Login | Datasets | Logout
 

View Community Concepts - Detail

Ledum glandulosum / Darlingtonia californica / Sphagnum spp. Shrubland | Western Ecology Working Group of...
  click to update datacart
Name: Ledum glandulosum / Darlingtonia californica / Sphagnum spp. Shrubland
Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description: This early-seral association occurs in open mire complexes on floating lake mats and on sandy soils with perched water tables. It is restricted to the central and southern coast of Oregon. Circular or elliptical hummocks 1-3 feet taller than the surrounding mire surface form islands of ombrotrophic vegetation in otherwise minerotrophic mire fed by springs, runoff, or lakewater. Vegetation is similar to Ledum glandulosum / Carex obnupta / Sphagnum spp. Shrubland (CEGL003434), but Darlingtonia californica dominates the herb layer with up to 20% cover, and Carex obnupta is absent. Mature trees are scarce, and reproducing Pinus contorta var. contorta, Tsuga heterophylla, Thuja plicata, and Picea sitchensis are scarce or absent. These trees are slow-growing and stunted, and most die before maturity. The shrub layer is dominated by Ledum glandulosum with 10-60% cover. Vaccinium oxycoccos and Vaccinium uliginosum may be codominant, with up to 40 and 70% cover, respectively. Lesser amounts of Spiraea douglasii and Lonicera involucrata are also present. Two distinct variants occur with either Sphagnum palustre or Sphagnum fuscum dominant in the moss layer. The herb layer in the Sphagnum palustre variant is moderately diverse (up to 16 species), including more hydrophytic species such as Comarum palustre, Carex aquatilis var. dives, and Carex cusickii. The herb layer in the Sphagnum fuscum variant is depauperate and includes only 8 species, has fewer hydrophytic species, and the vegetation is conspicuously dwarfed. These conditions are caused by high acidity and low nutrient status engendered by Sphagnum fuscum. This variant does not form until the underlying peat mat is dense, firm, and sufficiently raised above the groundwater. Hollows between hummocks in both variants are generally wet, species-poor, and consist almost entirely of lawns of Sphagnum angustifolium, Sphagnum pacificum, or bare muddy bottoms if trailed by elk and deer. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.26040.LEDUMGLANDULOSU
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 21-Oct-2002 to: 17-Nov-2014
      Names:   Translated: Glandular Labrador-tea / California Darlingtonia / Peatmoss species Shrubland
  UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687111 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Code: CEGL003435
  Scientific: Ledum glandulosum / Darlingtonia californica / Sphagnum spp. Shrubland
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(undetermined) Ledum glandulosum / Darlingtonia californica / Sphagnum spp. Shrubland