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CEGL006840 Spartina patens - Schoenoplectus pungens - Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens - Centella erecta Marsh
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Saltmeadow Cordgrass - Common Threesquare - Eastern Marsh Fern - Erect Centella Marsh
Colloquial Name: Mid-Atlantic Mixed Grassland Interdunal Swale
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This interdunal wetland association has been documented from far southeastern Virginia. It occurs in seasonally flooded interdunal swales that experience longer hydroperiods than do other interdunal swale associations on the mid-Atlantic. It is characterized by relatively high species diversity, and is dominated by Centella erecta, Spartina patens, and/or Schoenoplectus pungens. Thelypteris palustris is characteristic. Other associates may include Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis, Polygonum punctatum, Proserpinaca palustris, and others.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The classification is based on analysis of a 211-plot dataset covering varied beach and dune vegetation across the Virginia coast. This association is supported by 15 plot samples and needs critical comparison with data from similar habitats in North Carolina. This group is equivalent to an aggregation of the Scirpus - Hydrocotyle and Spartina - Scirpus communities described from the Back Bay - False Cape area by Tyndall and Levy (1978).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This vegetation is dense and stratified, dominated by tall graminoids such as Schoenoplectus pungens, Spartina patens, Saccharum giganteum, Panicum virgatum var. virgatum, and Eleocharis quadrangulata occurring over dense ground cover of Centella erecta and often Hydrocotyle umbellata. Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens and Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis may also be patch-dominant in places. Associated species may include Polygonum punctatum, Proserpinaca palustris, Juncus canadensis, Diodia virginiana, Eupatorium capillifolium, Dichanthelium scoparium, and Panicum verrucosum. Many other herbaceous species occur at low constancy and cover. Patches of Toxicodendron radicans, as well as seedlings or saplings of Diospyros virginiana, Pinus taeda, Salix caroliniana, Populus heterophylla, and Morella cerifera may be present.
Dynamics: The swale habitats occupied by this community are vulnerable to damage by foraging feral pigs, which have been established in the False Cape area for many decades.
Environmental Description: This association occurs in seasonally flooded interdunal depressions of large dune systems in the Back Bay - False Cape region of southeastern Virginia. These habitats vary in size from quite small to several acres in size. They are flooded to depths of approximately 25 cm or more in the winter and spring, but gradually draw down and are usually dry by late summer, except in unusually wet years.
Geographic Range: This association is documented from far southeastern Virginia and may also occur in North Carolina.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: NC?, VA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.897923
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2
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.Ne Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division | D322 | 2.C.4.Ne |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.4.Ne.2 Beaksedge species - Spikerush species - Panicgrass species Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Prairie & Marsh Macrogroup | M067 | 2.C.4.Ne.2 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Ne.2.c Marsh Fimbry - Spikerush species - Southern Umbrella-sedge Coastal Interdunal Marsh & Prairie Group | G777 | 2.C.4.Ne.2.c |
| Alliance | A1372 Marsh Fimbry - Common Threesquare Coastal Marsh Alliance | A1372 | 2.C.4.Ne.2.c |
| Association | CEGL006840 Saltmeadow Cordgrass - Common Threesquare - Eastern Marsh Fern - Erect Centella Marsh | CEGL006840 | 2.C.4.Ne.2.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Scirpus - Hydrocotyle community (Tyndall and Levy 1978)
? Spartina - Scirpus community (Tyndall and Levy 1978)
? Spartina - Scirpus community (Tyndall and Levy 1978)
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Fleming, G. P., K. D. Patterson, and K. Taverna. 2017. The natural communities of Virginia: A classification of ecological community groups and community types. Third approximation. Version 3.0. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. [http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/]
- Tyndall, R. W., and G. F. Levy. 1978. Plant distribution and succession within interdunal depressions on a Virginia barrier dune system. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 94:1-15.