Name:
Calamagrostis canadensis Western Herbaceous Vegetation
Reference:
Western Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This wet grassland association occurs widely throughout mountainous areas of the western United States and Canada. These grasslands are a relatively small, meadow association that occurs in broad glaciated valleys, openings in moist forests, silted-in beaver ponds, and narrow floodplains of lower montane canyons. Elevations range from 670 to 3415 m (2200-11,200 feet). Parent material is generally coarse alluvium or fine glacial tills. Soils are Inceptisols, Entisols, and occasionally Mollisols. Textures range from clay loam, silty clay and silt loam to sand. Occurrences may have an organic layer on the surface as well as significant amounts of sand and rock in the lower layers, and are poorly to moderately well-drained. Stands generally stay relatively wet to moist throughout the growing season, are often flooded in the spring, and the water table drops 50-80 cm from the surface by late summer. This association is typically a dense sward of graminoid cover dominated by <i>Calamagrostis canadensis</i>. Other graminoid species usually present include <i>Carex aquatilis</i> and <i>Glyceria</i> spp. Other <i>Carex</i> spp. that can be present in low amounts, depending on geographic location, include <i>Carex utriculata, Carex nebrascensis, Carex canescens</i> and <i>Carex saxatilis</i>. Forb cover is variable, from nearly absent to over 25%. Species include <i>Caltha leptosepala, Senecio triangularis, Heracleum maximum, Mentha arvensis, Geum macrophyllum, Epilobium</i> spp., plus many other species, depending on location. Shrubs may be present with 1-5% cover and may include <i>Alnus incana, Symphoricarpos</i> spp., and <i>Salix</i> spp. Trees are rare but can include 1-3% cover of <i>Pinus contorta, Abies lasiocarpa</i>, and <i>Picea engelmannii</i>.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.34626.CEGL001559
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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