Name:
Carex echinata - Solidago uliginosa / Sphagnum spp. Seepage Meadow
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This community is known from the Allegheny Mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. Stands occupy flat to gently sloping areas (0-5°) on terraces and toeslopes, and in open wetland mosaics along high-elevation (>1070 m [3500 feet]) headwater streams. Habitats typically have pronounced hummock-and-hollow microtopography. Groundwater discharge may be barely perceptible, or may appear as flowing seeps and braided streamlets. A thin but continuous cover of <i>Sphagnum</i> mosses is present on hummocks underlain by coarse gravel, mineral soil, clay, or bedrock with very low pH (about 3.7) and base status. This community type is predominantly herbaceous but contains patches of low shrubs and stunted trees, particularly <i>Picea rubens, Vaccinium myrtilloides, Vaccinium angustifolium, Kalmia latifolia, Menziesia pilosa</i>, and <i>Acer rubrum</i>, on larger hummocks. Herbaceous composition is somewhat variable, but dominants usually include <i>Carex echinata</i> and/or <i>Solidago uliginosa</i>. Other common herbs include <i>Eriophorum virginicum, Juncus effusus, Drosera rotundifolia var. rotundifolia, Sparganium erectum ssp. stoloniferum, Carex trisperma, Doellingeria umbellata, Osmunda cinnamomea, Carex gynandra, Epilobium leptophyllum, Galium tinctorium, Viola cucullata, Scirpus cyperinus, Juncus subcaudatus, Juncus brevicaudatus, Rubus hispidus, Spiranthes cernua, Lycopus uniflorus, Lycopodium clavatum</i>, and <i>Platanthera clavellata</i>. Additional, less frequent herbaceous associates are <i>Carex baileyi, Carex intumescens, Carex leptalea, Dryopteris cristata, Gentiana clausa, Isoetes valida, Linum striatum, Pycnanthemum muticum</i>, and <i>Rhynchospora capitellata</i>. In West Virginia, dominant bryophyte species are <i>Sphagnum magellanicum, Sphagnum rubellum, Sphagnum fallax</i>, and <i>Sphagnum papillosum</i>.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:36592-{E9A4D66E-F233-4154-9E92-45549D13C70A}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
5
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