Print Report
A3287 Salix herbacea / Trichophorum cespitosum - Carex bigelowii Alpine Snowbed Alliance
Type Concept Sentence: This herb-dominated alpine vegetation is found in moist and somewhat protected spots above 1430 m (4700 feet) elevation in the Northern Appalachians, and at somewhat lower elevations northward in eastern Canada. Constant moisture is provided by nearby streams or late-melting snowbeds or snowbanks.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Snowbed Willow / Tufted Bulrush - Bigelow''s Sedge Alpine Snowbed Alliance
Colloquial Name: Snowbed Willow / Tufted Bulrush - Bigelow''s Sedge Alpine Snowbed
Hierarchy Level: Alliance
Type Concept: Dwarf-shrubs such as Vaccinium uliginosum are often a component, but the differential species are the graminoids and forbs. Trichophorum cespitosum, Carex scirpoidea, and Carex bigelowii are the characteristic graminoids and are usually locally dominant. Deschampsia flexuosa and Carex brunnescens are also typical although less abundant. Forbs include species also found at lower elevations, such as Campanula rotundifolia, Clintonia borealis, Platanthera dilatata, Solidago macrophylla, and Veratrum viride, as well as those restricted to higher elevations (at this latitude) such as Polygonum viviparum and Prenanthes boottii. In Canada, species include Lycopodium alpinum, Sibbaldia procumbens, and the dwarf-shrubs Salix herbacea, Harrimanella hypnoides, and Phyllodoce caerulea. This herb-dominated alpine vegetation is found in moist and somewhat protected spots above 1430 m (4700 feet) elevation in the Northern Appalachians, and lower elevations northward in eastern Canada. Constant moisture is provided by nearby streams or late-melting snowbeds or snowbanks.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Trichophorum cespitosum, Carex scirpoidea, and Carex bigelowii are the characteristic graminoids and are usually locally dominant. Deschampsia flexuosa and Carex brunnescens are also typical although less abundant. Forbs include Campanula rotundifolia, Clintonia borealis, Platanthera dilatata, Polygonum viviparum, Prenanthes boottii, Solidago macrophylla, and Veratrum viride, and in Canada, species include Lycopodium alpinum, Sibbaldia procumbens, and the dwarf-shrubs Salix herbacea, Harrimanella hypnoides, and Phyllodoce caerulea.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The description is based on Sperduto and Cogbill''s (1999) alpine report and Sperduto and Nichols (2004). Information is also taken from Jones et al. (2012), but more information is needed.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: This alliance is dominated by short graminoids and leafy forbs, with up to 60% cover of dwarf-shrubs.
Floristics: Calamagrostis pickeringii, Carex scirpoidea, Carex bigelowii, and Trichophorum cespitosum are the characteristic graminoids, and Trichophorum cespitosum and Carex bigelowii are usually locally dominant. Deschampsia flexuosa, Luzula parviflora (= var. melanocarpa), and Carex brunnescens are also typical although less abundant. Forbs include Campanula rotundifolia, Castilleja septentrionalis, Clintonia borealis, Coptis trifolia, Epilobium hornemannii, Geum peckii, Platanthera dilatata, Polygonum viviparum, Prenanthes boottii, Solidago macrophylla, and Veratrum viride. Dwarf shrubs include Vaccinium cespitosum and Salix uva-ursi. In Canada, species include Lycopodium alpinum, Sibbaldia procumbens, and the dwarf-shrubs Salix argyrocarpa, Salix herbacea, Harrimanella hypnoides, and Phyllodoce caerulea. Other less frequent species in the White Mountains of New Hampshire may include Arnica lanceolata, Symphyotrichum puniceum (= Aster puniceus), Calamagrostis canadensis, Calamagrostis pickeringii, Oxyria digyna, Phegopteris connectilis, Phleum alpinum, Spiraea septentrionalis, Stellaria borealis, Streptopus amplexifolius, Vahlodea atropurpurea (= Deschampsia atropurpurea), and Viola palustris.
Dynamics: This alliance forms as a result of late-melting snow that acts to both decrease the local growing season and to protect the vegetation from desiccating winds and extreme alpine weather.
Environmental Description: This alliance forms at the base of or in lee positions of ridges, summits and outcrops, on seepy cliff faces, and in ravines and drainages where moisture from late-melting snowbanks collects. Soils of this alliance are hydric, with an organic layer ranging from 7-30 cm or more. The substrate ranges from saturated, well-decomposed peat to organic-rich mineral soils. pH ranges from 4.9-6.3 (Sperduto and Nichols 2004).
Geographic Range: This alliance is currently documented from a few locations in the Presidential Range of New Hampshire and Katahdin in Maine, but it is much more widespread in the northern ranges in the Canadian portion of the range.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: ME, NH, NY, VT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.899411
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 4 Polar & High Montane Scrub, Grassland & Barrens Class | C04 | 4 |
| Subclass | 4.B Temperate to Polar Alpine & Tundra Vegetation Subclass | S12 | 4.B |
| Formation | 4.B.1 Temperate & Boreal Alpine Tundra Formation | F037 | 4.B.1 |
| Division | 4.B.1.Na Eastern North American Alpine Tundra Division | D042 | 4.B.1.Na |
| Macrogroup | 4.B.1.Na.1 Eastern North American Alpine Tundra Macrogroup | M131 | 4.B.1.Na.1 |
| Group | 4.B.1.Na.1.d <i>Vaccinium uliginosum - Diapensia lapponica - Carex bigelowii</i> Temperate Alpine Tundra Group | G909 | 4.B.1.Na.1.d |
| Alliance | A3287 Snowbed Willow / Tufted Bulrush - Bigelow''s Sedge Alpine Snowbed Alliance | A3287 | 4.B.1.Na.1.d |
| Association | CEGL006423 Tufted Bulrush - Pickering''s Reedgrass Alpine Snowbed | CEGL006423 | 4.B.1.Na.1.d |
| Association | CEGL006424 Tufted Bulrush - Northern Single-spike Sedge - Bigelow''s Sedge Alpine Snowbed | CEGL006424 | 4.B.1.Na.1.d |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Alpine herbaceous snowbank (Sperduto and Cogbill 1999)
= Snowbank (Bliss 1963)
= Snowbed (Jones et al. 2012a)
= Snowbank (Bliss 1963)
= Snowbed (Jones et al. 2012a)
- Bliss, L. C. 1963. Alpine plant communities of the Presidential Range, New Hampshire. Ecology 44:678-697.
- 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.
- Jones, M., L. Willey, and M. Anions. 2012a. Vegetation. Pages 49-78 in: M. Jones and L. Willey, editors. Eastern alpine guide: Natural history and conservation of mountain tundra east of the Rockies. Beyond Ktaadn, Inc., and Boghaunter Books, New Salem, MA.
- Sperduto, D. D., and C. V. Cogbill. 1999. Alpine and subalpine vegetation of the White Mountains, New Hampshire. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Inventory, Concord, NH. 25 pp. plus figures.
- Sperduto, D. D., and W. F. Nichols. 2004. Natural communities of New Hampshire: A guide and classification. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau, DRED Division of Forests and Lands, Concord. 242 pp.