Name:
Deschampsia cespitosa - (Sporobolus heterolepis, Schizachyrium scoparium) - Carex crawei - Packera paupercula Grassland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
The tufted hairgrass wet alvar grassland occurs in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, in northern Michigan, southern Ontario, and northern New York. Stands occur on very shallow, organic soils that cover flat limestone and dolostone outcrops (pavements). Average soil depths in this grassland community are less than 10 cm. This community has a characteristic soil moisture regime of alternating wet and dry seasons; many of them have flooded or saturated soils in early spring and late fall, combined with summer drought in most years. They usually occur in a patchy landscape mosaic with other alvar communities, including annual alvar pavement-grassland, little bluestem alvar grassland, alvar nonvascular pavement, and juniper alvar shrubland. In these landscape mosaics, the tufted hairgrass wet alvar grassland usually occupies the lowest, wettest positions; the actual elevation differences may be very subtle, with differences of less than 10 or 15 cm. The dominant grasses and sedges are <i>Deschampsia cespitosa, Carex crawei, Sporobolus heterolepis</i>, and <i>Eleocharis compressa</i>. Other characteristic grasses and herbs include <i>Packera paupercula, Sporobolus neglectus, Sporobolus vaginiflorus, Trichostema brachiatum</i>, and <i>Allium schoenoprasum</i>. Typically there are several turf and weft mosses forming a patchy mat at the base of grasses and forbs; typical mosses are <i>Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Abietinella abietina, Tortella tortuosa</i>, and <i>Drepanocladus</i> spp. There are very few shrubs in this grassland community (usually less than 1% cover). The community often includes small patches of exposed bedrock pavement (patches are less than 1.25 acres or 0.5 ha).
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:33875-{6966F421-7C6C-47D7-8945-9300F72692EF}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
20
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