Name:
Typha latifolia - Equisetum hyemale - Carex (hystericina, pellita) Seep Herbaceous Vegetation
Reference:
Midwestern Ecology Working Group...
Description:
This cattail-mixed graminoid seep is found in the central Great Plains. Stands occur on slopes where moderately minerotrophic groundwater (pH 6.0-6.9) reaches the surface. The soil is saturated for at least part of the growing season. Soils can be shallow to deep, depending on the degree of slope. A shallow (<30 cm) layer of sedge peat may accumulate at some sites. The dominant plants are all herbaceous. The dominant vegetation in this community consists of hydrophytic macrophytes, typically 1-2 m tall. Typha latifolia is by far the most common of the taller species. Among the shorter plants, which rarely exceed 1 m, Carex spp. (including Carex pellita and Carex hystericina) and Equisetum hyemale predominate. Other wetland species, such as Epilobium spp., Eupatorium perfoliatum, Glyceria striata, Impatiens spp., Marchantia polymorpha (a liverwort), Pilea fontana, Schoenoplectus acutus (= Scirpus acutus), Schoenoplectus pungens (= Scirpus pungens), Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (= Scirpus tabernaemontani), and Sparganium eurycarpum, are frequent. Small trees or shrubs, such as Populus deltoides and Salix spp., are rarely present. Flowing coldwater springs and streams associated with them are often dominated by partly emergent hydrophytic forbs, which may form partly floating mats on the waters surface, and include Berula erecta, Mimulus glabratus, Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum, and Veronica americana. Submersed hydrophytes including Elodea canadensis, Potamogeton foliosus, and Ranunculus longirostris may also be present, but rarely flower in flowing water. Most examples of this community are small, from dozens to hundreds of square m. Fires spreading from adjacent communities may have been important in this community prior to European settlement.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.26556.TYPHALATIFOLIAE
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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