Name:
Betula nana Seasonally Flooded Shrubland Alliance
Reference:
Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
Vegetation types within this seasonally flooded, cold-deciduous alliance occur in marshes in the subalpine and montane riparian zones. Elevations range from 900 m in Montana to 3000 m in Colorado. Communities can occur on beaver ponds, lakes, marshes, seeps, swales, and wet alluvial terraces adjacent to low-gradient meandering streams. They are found in areas where soils are saturated from snowmelt runoff for a significant part of the growing season, often on fens, where the vegetation receives water from seeps and springs. Soils are commonly Histosols, flooded until mid summer and saturated all year in many sites. Quaking mats are typical of many stands. Soil pH in Colorado is 6.3. Betula nana (= Betula glandulosa) dominates the canopy with 25-60% cover. The canopy is typically dense; however, there are large, open spaces between individual shrub clumps. Other shrubs present include Salix planifolia, Salix monticola, Salix wolfii, and Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda (= Pentaphylloides floribunda) in the Colorado stands. In the Montana sites Cornus sericea, Alnus incana, and Rhamnus alnifolia can occur. The herbaceous undergrowth is found on small hummocks and is usually dominated by a dense mixture of mesic forbs and mesic graminoids. Mesic graminoids (25-60% cover) include Calamagrostis canadensis, Calamagrostis stricta, Carex aquatilis, Carex utriculata, Carex livida, and Deschampsia caespitosa. Forb cover is sparse and may include Epilobium ciliatum, Caltha leptosepala, Ligusticum filicinum, Ranunculus sceleratus, Sparganium natans (= Sparganium minimum), and Thalictrum alpinum. The fern layer can consist of as much as 80% cover with Equisetum laevigatum. Salix planifolia, Salix wolfii, Salix geyeriana, and Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda shrublands occur in adjacent riparian areas. Carex spp., Deschampsia caespitosa, and Eleocharis quinqueflora meadows may also be present.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.17999.BETULANANASEASO
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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