Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Broadleaf Cattail - Bulrush species Western Boreal Marsh Alliance

Colloquial Name: Western Boreal Cattail - Bulrush Marsh

Hierarchy Level:  Alliance

Type Concept: Stands of this marsh alliance tend to be of low plant diversity with only species of Typha or Scirpus and/or Schoenoplectus dominant, although the two often occur together, with few other species, including Lemna spp., Carex utriculata, and others. Bulrush and cattail marshes occur throughout the boreal and boreal transition of Alaska, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and south into northern Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota. Stands occur on wave-exposed lake-embayments with water movement, grassland potholes, and roadside ditches. Stands have occasional substrate exposure which allows for aeration and limits organic accumulation. They are generally flooded and emergent most of the growing season, but often experience wide water level fluctuations seasonally. Open water is often adjacent.

Diagnostic Characteristics: Emergent marshes dominated by Typha and Scirpus and/or Schoenoplectus spp. in boreal and boreal transition climates.

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Difficult to discern from marshes further south and east, which can have the same species composition. Probably the real differences are in the aquatic life between temperate and boreal marshes.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available