Name:
North Atlantic Coastal Beach Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This group covers mostly non-forested, sparsely to moderately vegetated boulder, cobble, and gravel shores, above the normal high-tide line along the immediate Atlantic coast, from northern North Carolina to the Canadian Maritimes. On the mainland, it is often a narrow zone between the high-tide line and the upland forest; this zone becomes wider with increasing maritime influence, e.g., on some islands. The substrate is sand flats and beaches, or sandy with broken rock, ranging from cobbles to gravels, sometimes with a shallow soil layer. Tree growth is prevented by extreme exposure to wind, salt spray, and fog. Cover is patchy herbs with an occasional shrub. On cobble beaches, where storm waves create an unstable substrate, vascular plant cover is low, with typical species including <i>Cakile edentula ssp. edentula, Calystegia sepium, Chamaesyce polygonifolia, Chenopodium album, Elymus repens, Galeopsis bifida, Honckenya peploides ssp. diffusa, Lathyrus japonicus, Raphanus raphanistrum, Rumex crispus, Salsola kali, Sisymbrium altissimum, Solanum dulcamara</i>, and <i>Solidago sempervirens</i>. <i>Mertensia maritima</i> is an infrequent but diagnostic species of cobble beaches. Open rocky shore habitats are characterized by sparse (<25%) cover of salt-tolerant herbs such as <i>Argentina egedii ssp. groenlandica, Atriplex prostrata, Glaux maritima, Limonium carolinianum, Puccinellia maritima, Salicornia depressa, Spergularia salina</i>, and <i>Suaeda maritima</i>. Detritus washed in by the tides may be prominent. In Atlantic Canada, an unusual treed cobble beach can occur.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40307-{CEEDAD44-D60F-4DAB-81C1-12EA5BCD91C3}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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