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A3487 Typha angustifolia - Typha latifolia - Schoenoplectus spp. Marsh Alliance
Type Concept Sentence: This herbaceous wetland, found throughout most of the Great Plains, is dominated by Typha angustifolia and/or Typha latifolia, either alone or in combination with other tall emergent marsh species, and is found on semipermanently flooded sites.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Narrowleaf Cattail - Broadleaf Cattail - Bulrush species Marsh Alliance
Colloquial Name: Great Plains Cattail - Bulrush Marsh
Hierarchy Level: Alliance
Type Concept: This alliance, found throughout most of the Great Plains, contains stands dominated by Typha angustifolia and/or Typha latifolia, either alone or in combination with other tall emergent marsh species. In the southern Great Plains, Typha domingensis may be locally prominent. Typha spp. often occur in pure stands, and can colonize areas recently exposed by either natural or human causes. Associated species vary widely across the wide geographic range of this alliance. Vegetation in this alliance may be natural or semi-natural and includes mixed stands of the nominal species, as well as essentially monospecific stands of Typha latifolia. These monospecific stands occur especially in artificial wetlands, such as borrow pits or ponds. This alliance occurs on hydric soils in wetlands, ditches, ponds, lakes, and rivers, as well as on shorelines and streambanks. Inundation is commonly 3-6 dm (1-2 feet) in depth. Occurrences may display areas of open water, but emergent vegetation dominates (80% cover). Seasonal flooding during winter and spring or flooding during heavy rains helps maintain these marshes. Soils which support this community can be mineral or organic but are saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part. Vegetative diversity and density are highly variable in response to water depth, water chemistry, and natural forces. This alliance is found most commonly along lake margins and in shallow basins, and occasionally in river backwaters.
Diagnostic Characteristics: This alliance is characterized by herbaceous wetlands in the Great Plains dominated by Typha latifolia, Typha angustifolia, or Typha domingensis, sometimes with codominance by Schoenoplectus spp. or other tall emergent wetland species.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: It has been suggested that mixed emergent marshes tend to occur on harder pond, lake, or river bottoms and are less likely to contain a peaty mat with its diverse mixture of forbs. Typha latifolia can hybridize with Typha angustifolia and the hybrid, Typha x glauca, may be more invasive of disturbed areas than the parent species. In the West, some studies have classified marshes dominated by Typha domingensis as phases of Typha latifolia marshes. This alliance now includes wetland communities dominated by Typha latifolia, often in disturbed or sedimented situations. Many of the presettlement occurrences of this alliance have been drained and converted to cropland or destroyed by siltation, which greatly accelerates the natural successional process from shallow inundation to moist soil. Lythrum salicaria is an aggressive exotic species that threatens this vegetation type in Canada and more recently in the Midwest.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: This alliance is composed of emergent wetlands, dominated by 2- to 3-m tall cattails and other graminoid species. Forbs can be present in varying amounts, and there is often a significant component of floating aquatic species.
Floristics: Stands of this alliance are dominated by Typha angustifolia and/or Typha latifolia, either alone or in combination with other tall emergent marsh species. In the southern Great Plains, Typha domingensis is more common and can be locally dominant. Associated species vary widely; they include many sedges, such as Carex aquatilis, Carex pellita (= Carex lanuginosa), Carex rostrata, and bulrushes, such as Schoenoplectus acutus (= Scirpus acutus), Schoenoplectus americanus (= Scirpus americanus), Schoenoplectus heterochaetus (= Scirpus heterochaetus), and Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (= Scirpus tabernaemontani). Other graminoids can include Eleocharis spp., Glyceria spp., or Juncus spp. Floating aquatics such as Lemna minor may predominate in deeper zones.
Dynamics: Typha angustifolia occupies inundated and disturbed grounds and can tolerate deeper water and higher alkalinity levels than Typha latifolia (Great Plains Flora Association 1986). Typha species are prolific seed producers, spreading rapidly to become the early colonizers of wet mineral soil and will persist under wet conditions. Roots and lower stems are well-adapted to prolonged submergence, but periods of drawdown are required for seed germination to occur. These are important wetland communities for many species of birds and waterfowl.
Environmental Description: This alliance is found most commonly along lake or pond margins, slow-moving ditches, in shallow basins, adjacent to stream or river channels in wet mud, oxbows, and occasionally in river backwaters. Elevations range from roughly 300 m in the southeastern Great Plains to around 2000 m in Colorado. Sites where this alliance occurs are typically semipermanently flooded, inundated with 30-100 cm of water throughout the year. Lacustrine cattail marshes typically have a muck bottom zone bordering the shoreline, where cattails are rooted in the bottom substrate, and a floating mat zone, where the roots grow suspended in a buoyant peaty mat. Typha angustifolia can grow in deeper water compared to Typha latifolia, although both species reach maximum growth at a water depth of 50 cm (Grace and Wetzel 1981). Soils are characterized by accumulations of organic matter over deposits of fine silt and clay, or loams, sandy loams, or coarse sand (Jones and Walford 1995). Typha often occurs in pure stands and can colonize areas recently exposed by either natural or human causes. Adjacent herbaceous wetland vegetation types can be dominated by species of Scirpus and/or Schoenoplectus, Carex, or Eleocharis. Riparian shrublands or forests include those dominated by species of Salix, Fraxinus, or Populus.
Geographic Range: This alliance is wide-ranging and common in the Great Plains of the central United States and southern Canada. It ranges from southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan south to eastern Colorado and northern Texas.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: CO, KS, MB, ND, NE, OK, SD, TX, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.899610
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
Concept Lineage: This alliance is composed of the Great Plains components of old A.1436.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Typha (angustifolia, latifolia) herbaceous alliance (Hoagland 1998a)
? Typha latifolia herbaceous alliance (Hoagland 2000)
? Typha latifolia herbaceous alliance (Hoagland 2000)
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