Name:
Kalmia microphylla / Carex nigricans Wet Dwarf-shrubland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This association may be widespread throughout the western United States and western Canada. It is currently known from California, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Colorado, and British Columbia. This is a dwarf-shrubland association found in moist subalpine and alpine meadows, snowbeds, lake margins, and other low-gradient depressions of the northern Rockies and Pacific ranges from 1585 to 3965 m (5200-13,000 feet) in elevation. These habitats are cold and snowy, with snowfields lingering into June or later. Soils are frigid, derived from bedrock or aggraded alluvium, usually high in organic matter, and strongly acidic. These communities are often associated with hummocky topography, which provides a juxtaposition of saturated and somewhat drained microhabitats. Water tables are often at or near the surface for much of the growing season, and organic decomposition is slow. This association is typified by a dominant dwarf-shrub layer of <i>Kalmia microphylla</i>. Other ericaceous shrubs, including <i>Phyllodoce empetriformis, Phyllodoce breweri, Ledum glandulosum</i> (not in Colorado), <i>Gaultheria humifusa</i>, and <i>Vaccinium</i> spp., are common associates. Dwarf <i>Salix</i> spp. may also be present, such as <i>Salix farriae</i> or <i>Salix arctica</i>. The herbaceous layer is typically dominated by graminoids, of which Carices usually predominate. <i>Carex nigricans</i> is the dominant species, with cover ranging from 10% to well over 50% or more. <i>Carex scopulorum, Carex spectabilis, Carex aquatilis, Carex norvegica ssp. stevenii, Carex nova, Carex canescens</i>, and <i>Carex pellita</i> are especially common. Grasses, such as <i>Calamagrostis canadensis, Deschampsia cespitosa, Danthonia intermedia</i>, and <i>Phleum alpinum</i>, may also be locally abundant. Mesic to hygric forbs are usually scattered through the graminoid matrix, including <i>Symphyotrichum spathulatum, Oreostemma alpigenum, Pedicularis groenlandica, Caltha leptosepala, Parnassia fimbriata, Trollius laxus, Veronica</i> spp., <i>Gentiana</i> spp., <i>Dodecatheon</i> spp., and <i>Epilobium</i> spp. The moss layer is often virtually continuous but can also be only a few percent.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:30311-{352F3FED-FE9D-4A50-9279-169A11F05BF3}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
1
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