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Carex illota Herbaceous Vegetation | Western Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Carex illota Herbaceous Vegetation Reference: Western Ecology Working Group of... Description: This association is found in small patches on lakeshores, near springs, and below snowpatches in the lower alpine and on mountain valley floors in the subalpine Rocky Mountains of Colorado and northwestern Wyoming. Sites are flat to gently sloping, stable and snow-covered in winter. Aspect is variable. Surface water is present for extended periods during the growing season but is absent by the end of the growing season in most years. Substrates vary from loess, with accumulations of organic matter, to moderately well-drained silty clay soils predominantly covered by litter and duff and rocks greater than 10 cm. Soil surface may have significant cover of bare soil, gravel, mosses, and lichens. The vegetation is characterized by a dense to moderately dense herbaceous layer dominated by <i>Carex illota</i> (alpine stands are often nearly a monoculture) with 20-70% cover (typically >50%). <i>Antennaria umbrinella, Caltha leptosepala, Castilleja rhexiifolia, Deschampsia caespitosa, Eleocharis quinqueflora, Packera dimorphophylla, Primula parryi, Pedicularis groenlandica, Phleum alpinum</i>, or <i>Saxifraga odontoloma</i> may have significant cover (1-30%), but often the cover of other graminoids and forbs is low ( usually less than 1%). The shrub <i>Salix planifolia</i> may also be present with less than 1% cover. The nonvascular layer is highly developed and almost equally as abundant as the vascular cover. <i>Picea engelmannii</i> seedlings (subalpine stands) and <i>Vaccinium scoparium</i> may be present within the dwarf-shrub stratum in trace quantities (<1% cover). Adjacent wetter sites may be dominated by <i>Carex aquatilis, Carex scopulorum, Caltha leptosepala</i>, or <i>Eleocharis palustris</i>. Adjacent upland vegetation is dominated by <i>Deschampsia caespitosa, Salix planifolia</i>, or <i>Abies lasiocarpa - Pinus albicaulis</i> forest (subalpine stands).  Accession Code: VB.CC.33756.CEGL001876 Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
	Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization) Perspective from: 17-Nov-2014 to: 01-May-2019
	status: accepted This Community's Level: association This Community's Children: [none]		Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685274 NatureServe Explorer   Translated: Sheep Sedge Herbaceous Vegetation   Scientific: Carex illota Herbaceous Vegetation   Code: CEGL001876