Print Report

A1434 Bolboschoenus robustus - Bolboschoenus maritimus - Atriplex patula Inland Saline Marsh Alliance

Type Concept Sentence: This alliance 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: Sturdy Bulrush - Cosmopolitan Bulrush - Spear Saltbush Inland Saline Marsh Alliance

Colloquial Name: Inland Alkali Bulrush Saline Marsh

Hierarchy Level:  Alliance

Type Concept: This inland salt marsh alliance 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 alliance 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: No Data Available

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: This alliance 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 virginica, Bolboschoenus maritimus (= Schoenoplectus maritimus), Bolboschoenus robustus (= Schoenoplectus robustus), Spergularia salina (= Spergularia marina), and Sium suave.

Dynamics:  Seasonal and inter-annual fluctuations in water levels and salinity create a changing environment that maintains stands of this alliance.
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 alliance 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, NY, ON?, VA


Confidence Level: Low

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
Association CEGL005111 Cosmopolitan Bulrush - Spear Saltbush - Dwarf Spikerush Saline Marsh CEGL005111 2.C.4.Nd.2.f
Association CEGL006234 Sturdy Bulrush - Saltmeadow Rush - Foxtail Barley - Spear Saltbush Saline Marsh CEGL006234 2.C.4.Nd.2.f
Concept Lineage: This alliance equals old A.1434.

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)
Concept Author(s): J. Drake, in Faber-Langendoen et al. (2013)

Author of Description: J. Drake

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 12-18-14
  • 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, M. Hall, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, M. Russo, K. Schulz, L. Sneddon, K. Snow, and J. Teague. 2013-2019b. Screening alliances for induction into the U.S. National Vegetation Classification: Part 1 - Alliance concept review. NatureServe, Arlington, VA.
  • 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.
  • Grossman, D. H., K. Lemon Goodin, and C. L. Reuss, editors. 1994. Rare plant communities of the conterminous United States: An initial survey. The Nature Conservancy. Arlington, VA. 620 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]
  • Ogle, D. W. 1981. Long-distance dispersal of vascular halophytes: The marshes of Saltville, Virginia. Castanea 46:8-15.