Name:
Picea engelmannii / Eleocharis quinqueflora Swamp Woodland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This association is common throughout the Cascade Range of Oregon at moderately high elevations. It is rare eastward (though all of the sample sites used for this description are from east of the Cascades). Bogs develop in basin landforms within zones of abundant rainfall on flat, poorly drained sites that support cold, water-saturated soil development. Coastal-influenced wet climate and irregular, glaciated topography help create sites favorable for bog development in the Cascade Range. Eastward these requirements are met only at locations such as Pisgah Meadows (Ochoco National Forest), the headwaters of Jack Creek (Winema National Forest), and in the vicinity of Gearheart and Yamsay mountains (Fremont National Forest). Soils range from sedge to sphagnum and moss peats. Peat formation is due to slow plant decomposition on water-logged sites. Low dissolved oxygen and water temperatures, lack of fluctuation in the water table and water temperature, plus concentration of organic and mineral acids (tannins, etc.) in the water table all contribute to slow decomposition of plant residues and peat accumulates. The soil surface is saturated through most of the summer. Available water-holding capacity is very high. Vegetative composition is variable on these undulating sites. Trees, shrubs, grasses, and taller sedges dominate hummocks, while <i>Eleocharis quinqueflora, Carex limosa, Drosera anglica</i>, and aquatic plants such as <i>Menyanthes trifoliata</i> or <i>Utricularia</i> spp. dominate the water paths. <i>Pinus contorta</i> and <i>Picea engelmannii</i> are codominant in the Cascade Range. Eastward, <i>Picea engelmannii</i> is usually absent. Dwarfed shrubs, especially <i>Betula nana, Vaccinium uliginosum, Salix boothii, Salix commutata, Salix eastwoodiae, Kalmia microphylla</i>, and <i>Lonicera caerulea</i>, are common and may dominate the ground cover. <i>Eleocharis quinqueflora</i> and mosses are conspicuous in the herb layer. <i>Deschampsia cespitosa</i> and <i>Muhlenbergia filiformis</i> are present on many plots. Other grasses are inconspicuous. Normally robust sedges, such as <i>Carex aquatilis var. aquatilis, Carex aquatilis var. dives, Carex angustata, Carex utriculata</i>, or <i>Carex scopulorum</i>, are dwarfed, scattered, and lack vigor but can have fair canopy cover (7-15%). Which sedge is present depends on the geographic and elevational position of the stand. <i>Carex jonesii, Carex limosa</i>, and <i>Carex echinata</i> are characteristic bog graminoids. The rich variety of forbs includes <i>Symphyotrichum foliaceum var. foliaceum, Fragaria virginiana, Platanthera dilatata, Pedicularis groenlandica, Saxifraga oregana, Trifolium longipes, Dodecatheon</i> spp., <i>Triantha</i> sp., <i>Equisetum arvense, Mimulus primuloides</i>, and <i>Polygonum bistortoides</i>.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:29270-{13D940CB-982F-4176-A421-A2F0F0535E22}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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