Print Report

A4020 Juncus roemerianus Salt Marsh Alliance

Type Concept Sentence: This alliance of the Southeastern Coastal Plain is made up of Juncus roemerianus-dominated marshes with tidal hydrology. This widely distributed salt marsh alliance occurs in association with low salt marshes and is characterized by discrete, dense patches of vegetation usually strongly dominated by Juncus roemerianus with few other associates.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Black Needlerush Salt Marsh Alliance

Colloquial Name: Black Needlerush Salt Marsh

Hierarchy Level:  Alliance

Type Concept: This alliance is made up of Juncus roemerianus-dominated marshes with tidal hydrology. This widely distributed salt marsh alliance occurs in association with low salt marshes and is characterized by discrete, dense patches of vegetation usually strongly dominated by Juncus roemerianus with few other associates. Associates which occur at low cover may include Baccharis halimifolia, Borrichia frutescens, Distichlis spicata, Bolboschoenus robustus, Spartina alterniflora, Symphyotrichum subulatum, and Symphyotrichum tenuifolium. Its hydrology is generally irregularly tidally flooded. Soils are generally poorly to very poorly drained, often with standing water atop peat accumulations (averaging 15 cm in depth) which in turn overlie gleyed sands. Degree of tidal inundation and relative elevation control the distribution of salt marsh vegetation in general; Juncus roemerianus is typically found at lower elevation than the associated Spartina patens marshes or mixed marshes. This alliance occurs in the Southeastern Coastal Plain from Maryland south to Florida and west to Louisiana and Texas.

Diagnostic Characteristics: Tidal marsh in which Juncus roemerianus is present in quantity.

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Although the common name of this vegetation is sometimes "brackish marsh," its association with low salt marsh and tidal flooding regime, as well as other floristic associates, indicates its placement in salt marshes rather than in brackish marshes.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: The highly clonal habit of this vegetation produces dense, nearly monotypic stands.

Floristics: This widely distributed salt marsh alliance occurs in association with low salt marshes or in brackish marshes, and is characterized by discrete, dense patches of vegetation usually strongly dominated by Juncus roemerianus with few other associates. Associates which occur at low cover may include Baccharis halimifolia, Borrichia frutescens, Distichlis spicata, Bolboschoenus robustus (= Scirpus robustus), Spartina alterniflora, Symphyotrichum subulatum (= Aster subulatus), and Symphyotrichum tenuifolium (= Aster tenuifolius). The alliance may more rarely occur in freshwater, wind tidal situations. In these examples, Juncus roemerianus is the dominant, but other characteristic species may include Asclepias lanceolata, Boehmeria cylindrica, Cladium mariscus ssp. jamaicense, Eleocharis fallax, Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis, Polygonum punctatum, Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens, and others. This species composition is indicative of the freshwater marsh conditions, as they do not occur in more brackish and saline associations in the Juncus roemerianus alliance.

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  Juncus roemerianus-dominated marshes with tidal hydrology. Associations in this alliance have a range of water chemistry, including saline, brackish, and (rarely) freshwater. This community may occur as isolated patches within low salt marsh, or may dominate vast areas at the heads of tidal creeks that drain the marsh. Its hydrology is generally irregularly tidally flooded. Soils are generally poorly to very poorly drained, often with standing water atop peat accumulations (averaging 15 cm in depth) which in turn overlie gleyed sands. Degree of tidal inundation and relative elevation control the distribution of salt marsh vegetation in general; Juncus roemerianus is typically found at lower elevation than the associated Spartina patens marshes or mixed marshes. Juncus roemerianus generally occurs on sandy substrates. The alliance may more rarely occur in freshwater, wind tidal situations.
Geographic Range: This alliance occurs in the Southeastern Coastal Plain from Maryland south to Florida and west to Louisiana and Texas.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  AL, DE, FL, GA, LA?, MD, MS, NC, SC, TX, 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.5 Salt Marsh Formation F035 2.C.5
Division 2.C.5.Nb North American Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Salt Marsh Division D034 2.C.5.Nb
Macrogroup 2.C.5.Nb.1 North American Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Salt Marsh Macrogroup M079 2.C.5.Nb.1
Group 2.C.5.Nb.1.c Saltmeadow Cordgrass - Jesuit''s-bark High Salt Marsh Group G121 2.C.5.Nb.1.c
Alliance A4020 Black Needlerush Salt Marsh Alliance A4020 2.C.5.Nb.1.c
Association CEGL004186 Black Needlerush Salt Marsh CEGL004186 2.C.5.Nb.1.c
Association CEGL004962 Switchgrass - (Swamp Sawgrass, Black Needlerush) Salt Marsh CEGL004962 2.C.5.Nb.1.c
Concept Lineage: A.1475 in part

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: >< Brackish Marsh (Nelson 1986)
Concept Author(s): J.B. Nelson (1986)

Author of Description: A.S. Weakley and L. Sneddon

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 12-18-14
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