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A1436 Typha angustifolia - Typha latifolia - Schoenoplectus spp. Deep Marsh Alliance
Type Concept Sentence: This deep marsh alliance, found across the eastern half of the United States and southern Canada, contains stands dominated or codominated by Typha angustifolia and/or Typha latifolia, either alone or in combination with other tall emergent marsh species.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Narrowleaf Cattail - Broadleaf Cattail - Bulrush species Deep Marsh Alliance
Colloquial Name: Eastern Cattail - Bulrush Deep Marsh
Hierarchy Level: Alliance
Type Concept: This alliance, found across the eastern half of the United States and southern Canada, contains stands dominated or codominated by Typha angustifolia and/or Typha latifolia, either alone or in combination with other tall emergent marsh species. Typha often occurs in pure stands, and can colonize areas recently exposed by either natural or human causes. Lythrum salicaria, an exotic species from Europe, has become a common associate of many eastern Typha marshes. In the Southeast, this alliance is widespread and currently representative of a wide variety of mixed marshes with no clear dominants. Vegetation in this alliance may be natural or semi-natural and includes mixed stands of the nominal species, as well as essentially monospecific stands of Typha latifolia. Occurrences may display areas of open water, but emergent vegetation dominates. Vegetative diversity and density are highly variable in response to water depth, water chemistry, and natural forces. Associated species vary widely; in the Midwest they include many sedges such as Carex aquatilis, Carex pellita, Carex rostrata, bulrushes such as Schoenoplectus acutus, Schoenoplectus americanus, and Schoenoplectus heterochaetus, and broad-leaved herbs such as Asclepias incarnata, Hibiscus moscheutos, Impatiens capensis, Sagittaria latifolia, Scutellaria lateriflora, Sparganium eurycarpum, Thelypteris palustris, and Verbena hastata. Floating aquatics such as Lemna minor may predominate in deeper zones. This alliance is found most commonly along lake margins and in shallow basins, and occasionally in river backwaters. Lacustrine cattail marshes typically have a muck-bottom zone bordering the shoreline, where cattails are rooted in the bottom substrate, and a floating mat zone, where the roots grow suspended in a buoyant peaty mat. These marshes have hydric soils and are flooded with water levels ranging from several centimeters to more than 1 m for a significant part of the growing season. Soils which support this community can be mineral or organic but are saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part.
Diagnostic Characteristics: This alliance is characterized by deep marshes (flooded most or all of the growing season) dominated or codominated by Typha latifolia and/or Typha angustifolia, sometimes with other tall emergent species.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: It has been suggested that mixed emergent marshes tend to occur on harder pond, lake, or river bottoms and are less likely to contain a peaty mat with its diverse mixture of forbs (MNNHP 1993). In shallow flooded conditions this alliance grades into ~Schoenoplectus acutus - Bolboschoenus fluviatilis - Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani Marsh Alliance (A3664)$$. Typha latifolia can hybridize with Typha angustifolia, and the hybrid, Typha x glauca, may be more invasive of disturbed areas than the parent species. This alliance now includes wetland communities dominated by Typha latifolia, often in disturbed or sedimented situations. The concept and distribution of this alliance in the Southeast need reassessment. Many of the presettlement occurrences of this alliance have been drained and converted to cropland or destroyed by siltation, which greatly accelerates the natural successional process from shallow inundation to moist soil. Lythrum salicaria is an aggressive exotic species that threatens this vegetation type in Canada, the Northeast, and more recently in the Midwest.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: This alliance is composed of emergent wetlands, dominated by 2- to 4-m tall cattails and other graminoid species. Forbs can be present in varying amounts, and there is often a significant component of floating aquatic species.
Floristics: This alliance contains stands dominated by Typha angustifolia and/or Typha latifolia, either alone or in combination with other tall emergent marsh species. Associated species vary widely; in the central and western United States, they include many sedges such as Carex aquatilis, Carex pellita (= Carex lanuginosa), Carex rostrata, bulrushes such as Schoenoplectus acutus (= Scirpus acutus), Schoenoplectus americanus (= Scirpus americanus), and Schoenoplectus heterochaetus (= Scirpus heterochaetus). Other graminoids can include Eleocharis spp., Glyceria spp., or Juncus spp. In the central and eastern parts of its range, broad-leaved herbs such as Asclepias incarnata, Hibiscus moscheutos, Impatiens capensis, Sagittaria latifolia, Scutellaria lateriflora, Sparganium eurycarpum, Thelypteris palustris, and Verbena hastata may be present. In the west, forbs may include Mentha arvensis, Polygonum amphibium, Epilobium ciliatum and many others. Floating aquatics such as Lemna minor may predominate in deeper zones (Anderson 1982, MNNHP 1993).
Dynamics: Typha angustifolia occupies inundated and disturbed grounds and can tolerate deeper water and higher alkalinity levels than Typha latifolia. Typha species are prolific seed producers, spreading rapidly to become the early colonizers of wet mineral soil and will persist under wet conditions. Roots and lower stems are well-adapted to prolonged submergence, but periods of drawdown are required for seed germination to occur. These are important wetland communities for many species of birds and waterfowl.
Environmental Description: This alliance is found most commonly along lake or pond margins, slow-moving ditches, in shallow basins, adjacent to stream or river channels in wet mud, oxbows, and occasionally in river backwaters. Sites where this alliance occurs are typically semipermanently flooded, inundated with 30-100 cm of water throughout the year. Lacustrine cattail marshes typically have a muck-bottom zone bordering the shoreline, where cattails are rooted in the bottom substrate, and a floating mat zone, where the roots grow suspended in a buoyant peaty mat. Typha angustifolia can grow in deeper water compared to Typha latifolia, although both species reach maximum growth at a water depth of 50 cm (Grace and Wetzel 1981). Soils are characterized by accumulations of organic matter over deposits of fine silt and clay, or loams, sandy loams, or coarse sand. Typha often occurs in pure stands, and can colonize areas recently exposed by either natural or human causes. Adjacent herbaceous wetland vegetation types can be dominated by species of Scirpus and/or Schoenoplectus, Carex, or Eleocharis. Riparian shrublands or forests include those dominated by species of Salix, Fraxinus, or Populus.
Geographic Range: This alliance is widespread in the eastern half of the United States from eastern North Dakota to eastern Texas and east to the Atlantic Ocean. It is also found in Canada in southern Ontario and southern Quebec.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: AL, AR, CT, DC?, DE, FL?, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MB, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, ON, PA, QC, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.871240
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
Concept Lineage: This alliance has seven associations from old A.1436.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Typha (angustifolia, latifolia) herbaceous alliance (Hoagland 1998a)
? Typha latifolia herbaceous alliance (Hoagland 2000)
? L5D2aI2a. Typha latifolia (Foti et al. 1994)
? P5A4bII2a. Typha latifolia (Foti et al. 1994)
? Typha latifolia herbaceous alliance (Hoagland 2000)
? L5D2aI2a. Typha latifolia (Foti et al. 1994)
? P5A4bII2a. Typha latifolia (Foti et al. 1994)
- Anderson, D. M. 1982. Plant communities of Ohio: A preliminary classification and description. Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Columbus, OH. 182 pp.
- Apfelbaum, S. I. 1985. Cattail (Typha spp.) management. Natural Areas Journal 5(3):9-17.
- Eggers, S. D., and D. M. Reed. 1987. Wetland plants and plant communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, St. Paul, MN. 201 pp.
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- Faber-Langendoen, D., and Midwest State Natural Heritage Program Ecologists. 1996. Terrestrial vegetation of the midwest United States. International classification of ecological communities: Terrestrial vegetation of the United States. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA.
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- Foti, T., M. Blaney, X. Li, and K. G. Smith. 1994. A classification system for the natural vegetation of Arkansas. Proceedings of the Arkansas Academy of Science 48:50-53.
- Foti, T., compiler. 1994b. Natural vegetation classification system of Arkansas, draft five. Unpublished document. Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Little Rock. 8 pp.
- Grace, J. B., and R. G. Wetzel. 1981. Habitat partitioning and competitive displacement in cattail (Typha): Experimental field studies. The American Midland Naturalist 118:463-474.
- Hoagland, B. 2000. The vegetation of Oklahoma: A classification for landscape mapping and conservation planning. The Southwestern Naturalist 45(4):385-420.
- Hoagland, B. W. 1998a. Classification of Oklahoma vegetation types. Working draft. University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Natural Heritage Inventory, Norman. 43 pp.
- MNNHP [Minnesota Natural Heritage Program]. 1993. Minnesota''s native vegetation: A key to natural communities. Version 1.5. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program, St. Paul, MN. 110 pp.
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- Mohlenbrock, R. H. 1959. A floristic study of a southern Illinois swampy area. Ohio Journal of Science 59:89-100.
- Segadas-Vianna, F. 1951. A phytosociological and ecological study of cattail stands in Oakland County, Michigan. Journal of Ecology 39:316-329.
- Smith, T. L. 1991. Natural ecological communities of Pennsylvania. First revision. Unpublished report. Pennsylvania Science Office of The Nature Conservancy, Middletown, PA. 111 pp.
- Tolstead, W. L. 1942. Vegetation of the northern part of Cherry County, Nebraska. Ecological Monographs 12(3):257-292.
- Wharton, C. H. 1978. The natural environments of Georgia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Atlanta. 227 pp.