Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sheldon''s Sedge Wet Meadow

Colloquial Name: No Data Available

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This community is currently only described from at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon. Habitat is depressional topography on floodplains, in wet to ephemeral meadows. When stands are dry enough, Carex sheldonii is a useful forage plant. It is the wettest of the eleven wet meadow associations sampled on Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2012, supported by the fact that extensive, nearly monotypic stands are typical for wetland plant associations occurring at the wetter end of the spectrum. Species diversity is the lowest of any community sampled, with only 9 species recorded in the plots. Carex sheldonii is the principal species, ranging from 83 to 88% cover. Half of the plots contain presumably native Rorippa sphaerocarpa, which may be new to the Oregon flora. The remaining species present in one-quarter of the plots are mostly exotic, indicating that the stands dry out for a significant portion of the season.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This Carex sheldonii association was first described by Crowe and Clausnitzer (1997) and reviewed in Crowe et al. (2004). Moseley (1998) noted that the Carex sheldonii association occupied the ecotone between Schoenoplectus acutus marsh and uplands in the Owyhee River canyon. Crowe and Clausnitzer (1997) and Crowe et al. (2004) reported it from similar landforms but at higher elevation in the Blue Mountains. Presence of exotic species in wetter plant associations indicates that at least some stands dry out sufficiently in summer to enable these species to become established, and perhaps indicates some compromised field condition.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available