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CEGL007235 Typha domingensis - Sacciolepis striata - Sagittaria lancifolia Marsh

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Southern Cattail - American Cupscale - Bull-tongue Arrowhead Marsh

Colloquial Name: Southern Cattail - American Cupscale - Bull-tongue Arrowhead Louisiana Freshwater Marsh

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This herbaceous freshwater to oligohaline marsh is located adjacent to estuarine and riverine tidal waters in the Mississippi River delta. It is dominated or codominated by Typha domingensis. Other constant species include Hydrocotyle spp. and Sagittaria lancifolia. Species that may codominate along with Typha domingensis include Eleocharis spp., Polygonum hydropiperoides, Sacciolepis striata, and Hydrocotyle spp. Frequently encountered species that occur at low cover include Cyperus spp., Kosteletzkya virginica, Lythrum lineare, Thelypteris palustris, and the non-natives Alternanthera philoxeroides and Salvinia minima. Many other species are encountered less frequently, such as Andropogon glomeratus, Eleocharis cellulosa, Ipomoea sagittata, Lemna obscura, Morella cerifera, Panicum hemitomon, Bolboschoenus robustus, Symphyotrichum subulatum, and Vigna luteola.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This vegetation was identified during a cluster analysis of 159 plots from Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Louisiana. It is described from 13 plots that loosely clustered together along with other plots classified as ~Typha domingensis Tidal Marsh (CEGL008456)$$, ~Eleocharis baldwinii - Hydrocotyle (ranunculoides, umbellata) Tidal Marsh (CEGL007893)$$, and other wooded and shrub-herb marshes where Typha domingensis had significant cover. Within the group of 13 plots, Homoteneity is 0.744 and Bray-Curtis Similarity is 0.559. This vegetation is distinguished from ~Typha domingensis Tidal Marsh (CEGL008456)$$ by the presence of significant cover of other freshwater to oligohaline species (e.g., Eleocharis spp., Polygonum hydropiperoides, and Sagittaria lancifolia) in addition to the high cover of Typha domingensis. Nolfo-Clements (2006) identified a thick-mat community at Jean Lafitte dominated by Typha spp. with few other species and also identified Typha spp. as an overstory in her Sagittaria lancifolia thick-mat association. Many of the species in this community are shared with other communities at Jean Lafitte, but the combination of species and environmental setting seems to support description of this community as a separate type. This community represents a diverse set of occurrences with seasonal and aspect dominance that differs between sites. Questions about species identifications for Eleocharis could be confounding the classification of this community. More information is needed to better separate the fresh to oligohaline marshes along the coast of Louisiana into associations. This vegetation may be floating and non-floating and share many species [see Similar Associations]. These marshes appear to undergo seasonal shifts in vegetation composition. In addition, subsidence, sea-level rise, and hydrologic changes are likely causing shifts in species composition, adding to the difficulty in classifying this vegetation.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: This herbaceous freshwater to oligohaline marsh is dominated or codominated by Typha domingensis. Other constant species include Hydrocotyle spp. and Sagittaria lancifolia. Species that may codominate along with Typha domingensis include Eleocharis spp., Polygonum hydropiperoides, Sacciolepis striata, and Hydrocotyle spp. Frequently encountered species that occur at low cover include Cyperus spp., Kosteletzkya virginica, Lythrum lineare, Thelypteris palustris, and the non-natives Alternanthera philoxeroides and Salvinia minima. Many other species are encountered less frequently, such as Andropogon glomeratus, Eleocharis cellulosa, Ipomoea sagittata, Lemna obscura, Morella cerifera, Panicum hemitomon, Bolboschoenus robustus (= Schoenoplectus robustus), Symphyotrichum subulatum, and Vigna luteola.

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  This oligohaline herbaceous marsh vegetation is located adjacent to estuarine and riverine tidal waters, but the occurrences where it was documented are mostly mapped as palustrine semipermanently flooded and not identified as tidal (NPS 2005). Though tidal influence has not been documented for these occurrences, it might be present, especially from wind tides. All locations were impacted by levees and ditches that are presumably disrupting the flow of water. Some examples of this community may occur as a floating mat of vegetation (flotant).
Geographic Range: This community is described from Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. Other examples are expected to occur along the coast of Louisiana.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  LA


Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented

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.Ne Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division D322 2.C.4.Ne
Macrogroup 2.C.4.Ne.1 Annual Wild Rice - Saltmeadow Cordgrass - Pickerelweed Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Macrogroup M066 2.C.4.Ne.1
Group 2.C.4.Ne.1.b <i>Zizaniopsis milacea - Spartina patens - Panicum hemotimon</i> Freshwater Tidal Marsh Group G913 2.C.4.Ne.1.b
Alliance A4015 Southern Cattail - Beaked Spikerush Gulf Coastal Plain Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Alliance A4015 2.C.4.Ne.1.b
Association CEGL007235 Southern Cattail - American Cupscale - Bull-tongue Arrowhead Marsh CEGL007235 2.C.4.Ne.1.b
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: > Typha spp. Thick-mat Marsh Association (Nolfo-Clements 2006)
Concept Author(s): J. Teague

Author of Description: J. Teague

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 10-22-14
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  • Couvillion, B. R., and H. Beck. 2013. Marsh collapse thresholds for coastal Louisiana estimated using elevation and vegetation index data. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 63:58-67.
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  • NPS [National Park Service]. 2005. Jean Lafitte NHP 2005 Habitat Data Map (1:12,000) created by USGS-NWRC. Unpublished data shared by NPS.
  • Neubauer, S. C. 2013. Ecosystem responses of a tidal freshwater marsh experiencing saltwater intrusion and altered hydrology. Estuaries and Coasts 36:491-507.
  • Nolfo-Clements, L. E. 2006. Vegetative survey of wetland habitats at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in southeastern Louisiana. Southeastern Naturalist 5(3):499-514.
  • Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
  • USGS [U.S. Geological Survey]. 2013b. Trends and causes of historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana. Fact Sheet 2013-3017. U.S. Geological Survey. March 2013
  • Williams, S. J. 2013. Sea-level rise implications for coastal regions. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 63:184-196. [http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/msltrendstable.htm]
  • Willis, J. M., and M. W. Hester. 2004. Interactive effects of salinity, flooding, and soil type on Panicum hemitomon. Wetlands 24(1):43-50.