Name:
Dasiphora fruticosa / Oligoneuron riddellii - Andropogon gerardii Graminoid Fen Alliance
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This alliance is currently found in the north-central Midwest of the United States and perhaps in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Stands are a variable combination of low shrubs and herbs on minerotrophically rich mucks, often called prairie fens. The shrub layer is low (0.5-1 m) and varies from scattered to dense cover over a dense herbaceous layer. Patterning within large fens may occur, leading to recognizable zones, such as sedge flats, which occur around the spring discharge; fen meadows, which occur in the adjacent saturated zone as a variable combination of shrubs and herbs; and tall-shrub fens, which occur on more elevated portions or edges of the fen. The most consistent shrub dominant is <i>Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda</i>, but other shrubs include <i>Salix candida</i>. Typical herbaceous associates include a variety of sedges that vary across the range of the alliance, including <i>Carex sterilis, Carex lasiocarpa</i>, and <i>Carex stricta</i>. Many prairie species may be typically associated, including <i>Andropogon gerardii, Oligoneuron ohioense, Sorghastrum nutans, Sporobolus heterolepis</i>, and others. Fire probability is higher in prairie fens than in most other fens. Soils are saturated mucks, neutral to alkaline, marly, and with excessive water-retaining capacity.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:38918-{7A27E0F7-23F4-405F-9329-CAAA1DF9FFE7}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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