Print Report

A3823 Carex aquatilis - Carex spp. - Eriophorum angustifolium Sedge Meadow Alliance

Type Concept Sentence: This herbaceous alliance consists of sedge-dominated, mineral soil wetlands where Carex aquatilis, Carex lacustris, Carex rostrata, Carex stricta, Carex utriculata, Carex vesicaria, and Equisetum fluviatile provide the dominant cover (singly or in various combinations); it is found in the boreal and boreal transition climates.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Water Sedge - Sedge species - Tall Cottongrass Sedge Meadow Alliance

Colloquial Name: Western Boreal Sedge Wet Meadow

Hierarchy Level:  Alliance

Type Concept: This wetland alliance is dominated wider-leaved sedges, with a mixture of forbs. Dominant species include Carex aquatilis, Carex lacustris, Carex rostrata, Carex stricta, Carex utriculata, Carex vesicaria, and Equisetum fluviatile. Other species such as Alopecurus aequalis, Eleocharis palustris, Glyceria grandis, Polygonum amphibium, Scirpus and/or Schoenoplectus spp., Typha spp., and the forbs Bidens cernua, Epilobium leptophyllum, Galium trifidum, Mentha arvensis, and Scutellaria galericulata may be present. Scolochloa festucacea may be found in drier stands. Woody species are rare. It is found in the boreal and boreal transition of Alaska, British Columbia, extending east into Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and south into northern Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota. Stands typically occur in depressions, around ponds or lakes, and adjacent to streams or rivers. Sites are flooded for some time during the growing season in most years. Stands are found on mostly mineral soils in fresh or slightly saline shallow marshes. These marshes occur on wave-washed lakeshores, stream floodplains and back-levees where waterflow prevents peat accumulation and provides for high nutrients.

Diagnostic Characteristics: Boreal climate wetlands dominated by Carex aquatilis, Carex rostrata, Carex utriculata, Equisetum fluviatile, and other sedges or any combination. Soils are mineral, generally flooded, saturated or very wet throughout the growing season.

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: The southern boundary for this alliance aligns with the transition from boreal to temperate climate. The eastern boundary is defined more by the inclusion of eastern affiliated species as well as circumboreal species.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: This alliance is characterized by rhizomatous, sod-forming, perennial graminoids that are less than 1 m in height.

Floristics: This wetland alliance is dominated wider-leaved sedges, with a mixture of forbs. Dominant species include Carex aquatilis, Carex lacustris, Carex rostrata, Carex stricta, Carex utriculata (= Carex rostrata var. utriculata), Carex vesicaria, and Equisetum fluviatile. Other graminoid species include Alopecurus aequalis, Calamagrostis canadensis, Carex atherodes, Carex lenticularis, Carex microptera, Deschampsia cespitosa, Eleocharis palustris, Glyceria grandis, Glyceria striata, and Juncus balticus, as well as various species of Scirpus, Schoenoplectus, and Typha. Forbs are often present at low cover but can be seasonally abundant. Species present may include Bidens cernua, Caltha leptosepala, Epilobium ciliatum, Epilobium leptophyllum, Galium trifidum, Mentha arvensis, Pedicularis groenlandica, Polygonum amphibium, Scutellaria galericulata, Symphyotrichum foliaceum (= Aster foliaceus), and Urtica dioica. A few scattered Salix spp. may occur within the herbaceous stand, these generally very open with <10% cover.

Dynamics:  This alliance can be early-seral and some sedge communities are known to invade margins of newly formed beaver ponds, as well as the freshly exposed silt beds of drained beaver ponds (Padgett et al. 1989). With time, these types will grade into drier grass-dominated types such as Calamagrostis canadensis (Cooper 1986a). This successional shift in species composition can also be initiated by a change in the physical environment where flooding results in sedimentation raising the surface above the water table (Cooper 1986a). As aggradation, or buildup, of the floodplain proceeds, the site becomes drier and the dominant graminoid cover changes from sedge-dominated to grass-dominated stands. Abandoned beaver ponds also go through a similar succession. With time, ponds fill in with silt, and Carex spp. establish on the new saturated substrate. As the site becomes firm and raised above the old pond level, other Carex species may invade as with time Calamagrostis canadensis may become established. Successional changes can shift between different communities within this alliance. Wilson (1969) reports that Carex aquatilis associations trap sediment from overbank flows which forms a clay pan, eventually raising the water table. This process drives retrogressive succession and a plant association dominated by Carex utriculata often takes over on these sites (Wilson 1969).
Environmental Description:  This alliance consists of wet meadow communities that occur around the edges of lakes and beaver ponds, along the margins of slow-moving reaches of streams and rivers, and in marshy swales and overflow channels on broad floodplains left by migrating stream channels. Stands also occur in valley bottoms with perennial seeps (Hansen et al. 1995). The vegetation occurs in standing water or on sites that become relatively dry during the latter part of the growing season. Many sites are located in old beaver ponds that have filled with sediment. The surface may occasionally be mounded. Mounds result from a buildup of Carex spp. sod and downcutting of small channels by overland flow during spring runoff (Hansen et al. 1995). A wide range of soils are associated with this alliance. Histosols are most common. Mollisols and Entisols are also associated with this type. Soil texture varies widely from loamy clay to sandy loam. Mottling often occurs within a few centimeters of the surface. Organic layers may be present but are less than 40 cm and often much thinner, these wetlands are not fens or bogs. Soils are saturated to moist, and water tables can be above or below the soil surface throughout the growing season. Most years the water tables drop late in the season allowing for the breakdown of dead organic matter and the release of nutrients. Soil reaction is slightly acidic to neutral (pH 6.0-7.0) (Looman 1981a, 1982, Hansen et al. 1995).
Geographic Range: This alliance is found in boreal and transitional boreal Alaska, British Columbia, Alberta, Idaho, Montana, Saskatchewan, North Dakota, and Minnesota.

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  AB, AK, BC, MB, NT, NU, SK, YT


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.Np Arctic & Boreal Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division D320 2.C.4.Np
Macrogroup 2.C.4.Np.6 Gray Alder - Northwest Territory Sedge Boreal Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup M894 2.C.4.Np.6
Group 2.C.4.Np.6.f Water Sedge - Northwest Territory Sedge Boreal Wet Meadow & Marsh Group G528 2.C.4.Np.6.f
Alliance A3823 Water Sedge - Sedge species - Tall Cottongrass Sedge Meadow Alliance A3823 2.C.4.Np.6.f
Association CEGL005288 Northwest Territory Sedge Boreal Wet Meadow CEGL005288 2.C.4.Np.6.f
Association CEGL005289 Water Sedge Boreal Wet Meadow CEGL005289 2.C.4.Np.6.f
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Carex spp. Series (Johnston 1987)
= Alaska-Yukon Boreal Sedge Wet Meadow (Jorgensen et al. 2018) [TJ46]
? Herbaceous and Sedge Wetlands (Chappell et al. 1997)
? Montane, Plains, and Great Basin Marshlands (Brown 1982a)
Concept Author(s): G. Kittel, in Faber-Langendoen et al. (2013)

Author of Description: G. Kittel, D. Culver, M. Damm, L. Allen

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 03-14-14
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