Name:
Dasiphora fruticosa - Carex lasiocarpa Western Boreal Alkaline Fen Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This group extends across the western boreal regions of North America, with occurrences in inland British Columbia, east into western Alberta, and north into Alaska and Yukon Territory. These fens, distributed across glaciated western and central Canada, develop in open basins where bedrock or other substrate influence creates circumneutral to calcareous conditions. They are most abundant in areas of limestone bedrock, and widely scattered in areas where calcareous substrates are scarce. Shore fens, which are peatlands that are occasionally flooded along streams and lakeshores, are also included here because flooding tends to create moderately alkaline conditions. Fens are nutrient-rich and have a thick peat layer that may be floating or submerged. Standing water is usually present. The edge of the basin may be shallow to deep peat over a sloping substrate, where seepage waters provide nutrients. The vegetation may be graminoid-dominated, shrub-dominated, or a patchwork of the two. <i>Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda</i> is a common diagnostic shrub, along with <i>Betula pumila, Betula glandulosa, Betula nana, Myrica gale, Salix barclayi, Salix candida, Salix maccalliana, Vaccinium macrocarpon</i>, and <i>Larix laricina</i>. The herbaceous flora is usually species-rich and includes calciphilic graminoids and forbs. Species may include <i>Carex lasiocarpa, Carex diandra, Menyanthes trifoliata, Equisetum fluviatile, Comarum palustre, Calla palustris, Eriophorum angustifolium, Trichophorum cespitosum</i>, and <i>Carex aquatilis</i>.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40101-{FF822DA8-B05A-4444-BAE1-9E09D061B8AE}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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