Name:
Carex interior - Eleocharis elliptica - Thelypteris palustris Fen
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This community is found in the Sandhills region of the central Great Plains on level valley bottoms bordering streams, lakes, and marshes. The water table is 15-30 cm below the surface, and these sites remain saturated throughout the year but never become flooded. The soils are deep (0.7-7 m) peat or muck formed from decaying herbaceous vegetation. Surface mounding is characteristic of many sites. The vegetation consists mainly of hydrophytic herbaceous species. Stands are typically dominated by sedges, including <i>Carex interior, Carex lacustris, Carex nebrascensis, Carex prairea</i>, and <i>Carex sartwellii</i>. Other abundant species are <i>Calamagrostis canadensis, Eleocharis elliptica, Glyceria striata</i>, and <i>Thelypteris palustris</i>. In areas of well-preserved fibrous peat, <i>Carex pellita, Carex interior</i> and <i>Carex prairea</i> dominate. Where the peat is more degraded and mucky, <i>Carex lacustris</i> and <i>Carex nebrascensis</i> often dominate, with <i>Carex aquatilis</i> common in some sites. Some parts of the fen may be dominated by taller graminoids, such as <i>Phragmites australis, Schoenoplectus acutus</i>, and <i>Typha latifolia</i>, with a ground layer of <i>Onoclea sensibilis</i> and <i>Thelypteris palustris</i>. In other parts, shrub cover can be high. Shrub species include <i>Salix petiolaris, Cornus sericea</i>, and <i>Salix</i> spp. Many disjunct boreal species are commonly found in the fibrous peat, including <i>Symphyotrichum boreale, Doellingeria umbellata var. pubens, Eriophorum angustifolium, Eriophorum gracile, Muhlenbergia glomerata</i>, and <i>Ophioglossum pusillum</i>.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:31298-{85CD2A7D-7A32-455B-8074-C0C58DE80371}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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