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G773 Eastern North American Inland Saline Marsh Group
Type Concept Sentence: This group consists of rare inland salt marshes in the mid-Atlantic and southern Great Lakes areas that are dominated by salt-tolerant herbaceous species.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Eastern North American Inland Saline Marsh Group
Colloquial Name: Eastern North American Inland Saline Marsh
Hierarchy Level: Group
Type Concept: This inland salt marsh group occurs in just a few known locations in Virginia, New York, Michigan, and Illinois. Total vegetation cover is sparse to open in Great Lakes area stands but dense in Virginia. Stands are dominated by medium and tall herbaceous species tolerant of the saline conditions, typically including Alisma subcordatum, Atriplex patula, Eleocharis parvula, Hordeum jubatum, Juncus gerardii, Salicornia depressa, Bolboschoenus maritimus, Bolboschoenus robustus, Spergularia salina, and Sium suave. Shrubs and trees are essentially absent. These salt marshes occur where saline water emerges as spring or seeps, often as pockets within a larger freshwater marsh. Soils can be mineral, muck, or peat.
Diagnostic Characteristics: This group is characterized by inland saline herbaceous wetlands dominated by salt-tolerant species, usually including Atriplex patula, Eleocharis parvula, Juncus gerardii, Bolboschoenus maritimus, and Bolboschoenus robustus.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This group contains a few unusual stands of inland saline wetlands in the eastern U.S. They show some resemblance to Atlantic coast salt marshes, and could be assigned to that macrogroup, but their ecology and floristics also overlap with freshwater marshes.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: This group has open to dense cover by medium and short herbaceous species. Stands near the Great Lakes tend to be open (<50% cover), while the single known stand in Virginia has dense herbaceous cover. Shrubs and trees are essentially absent, except possibly along the margins.
Floristics: Stands are dominated by medium and tall herbaceous species tolerant of the saline conditions, typically including Alisma subcordatum, Atriplex patula, Eleocharis parvula, Hordeum jubatum, Juncus gerardii, Salicornia depressa (= Salicornia virginica), Bolboschoenus maritimus (= Schoenoplectus maritimus), Bolboschoenus robustus (= Schoenoplectus robustus), Spergularia salina (= Spergularia marina), and Sium suave.
Dynamics: Increased water from high precipitation or other sources can result in a lowering of the salinity in this group. Short-term seasonal changes of this nature are common during heavy rains or after snowmelt in the north but long-term changes in the hydrology will result in a change in the vegetation.
Environmental Description: These salt marshes occur where saline water emerges as spring or seeps, often as pockets within a larger freshwater marsh. Soils can be mineral, muck, or peat.
Geographic Range: This group is rare and widely scattered with a few known sites in Illinois, Michigan, and New York and one site in Virginia. It may occur in southern Ontario.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: IL, MI, NS, NY, ON?, VA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.894453
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class | C02 | 2 |
| Subclass | 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass | S44 | 2.C |
| Formation | 2.C.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation | F013 | 2.C.4 |
| Division | 2.C.4.Nd Eastern North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division | D323 | 2.C.4.Nd |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.4.Nd.2 Broadleaf Cattail - White Snakeroot - Rush species Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup | M069 | 2.C.4.Nd.2 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Nd.2.f Eastern North American Inland Saline Marsh Group | G773 | 2.C.4.Nd.2.f |
| Alliance | A1434 Sturdy Bulrush - Cosmopolitan Bulrush - Spear Saltbush Inland Saline Marsh Alliance | A1434 | 2.C.4.Nd.2.f |
Concept Lineage: G112 split into G770, G771 & G773 (DFL 7-16-13).
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Inland Salt Marsh (Kost et al. 2007)
= Inland Salt Marsh (Fleming and Patterson 2011a)
= Inland salt marsh (Edinger et al. 2002)
= Inland Salt Marsh (Fleming and Patterson 2011a)
= Inland salt marsh (Edinger et al. 2002)
- Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2002. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. (Draft for review). New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
- Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, S. Gawler, M. Hall, C. Josse, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, L. Sneddon, K. Schulz, J. Teague, M. Russo, K. Snow, and P. Comer, editors. 2010-2019a. Divisions, Macrogroups and Groups for the Revised U.S. National Vegetation Classification. NatureServe, Arlington, VA. plus appendices. [in preparation]
- Fleming, G. P., and K. D. Patterson. 2011a. Natural communities of Virginia: Ecological groups and community types. Natural Heritage Technical Report 11-07. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 34 pp.
- Kost, M. A., D. A. Albert, J. G. Cohen, B. S. Slaughter, R. K. Schillo, C. R. Weber, and K. A. Chapman. 2007. Natural communities of Michigan: Classification and description. Report No. 2007-21, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Lansing. 314 pp. [http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/reports/2007-21_Natural_Communites_of_Michigan_Classification_and_Description.pdf]