Name:
Cladium mariscus - Eleocharis cellulosa - Panicum hemitomon Marsh Macrogroup
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
The mosaic formed in south Florida by freshwater marshes and wet prairies communities is determined by the amount of precipitation, the length of the hydroperiod, fine topographic gradients, substrate, and fire regime. Tall or short-statured sawgrass marsh, dominated by <i>Cladium mariscus ssp. jamaicense</i> is the most extensive community in the Everglades due to its ability to survive fire, low nutrient conditions and occasional freezing. Deeper marshes may support an array of emergent plants that includes sparse <i>Cladium mariscus ssp. jamaicense, Panicum hemitomon, Rhynchospora tracyi</i>, or <i>Eleocharis cellulosa</i>. Florida's wet prairies in the Everglades (often referred to as "flats") are characterized by short emergent plants (mostly grasses), and are the transition zone between sawgrass areas and sloughs. Wet flats may be dominated by <i>Eleocharis cellulosa, Rhynchospora tracyi, Pontederia cordata</i>, or <i>Panicum hemitomon</i>. Wet marl prairie dominants may include one or more of the following: <i>Eragrostis elliottii, Muhlenbergia filipes, Rhynchospora divergens, Schizachyrium rhizomatum, Schoenus nigricans, Spartina bakeri</i>, and a short form of sawgrass. Wet prairies occur on higher and drier sites than marshes and sloughs, on both peat and marl soil; they dry out on an annual basis but require seasonal flooding with 6-10 months of standing water.<br /><br />In the Greater Antilles, some characteristic freshwater marsh species include <i>Cladium mariscus ssp. jamaicense, Cyperus</i> spp., <i>Eleocharis interstincta, Isoetes</i> sp., <i>Paspalum floridanum, Saccharum giganteum, Thalia geniculata</i>, and <i>Typha domingensis</i>. These freshwater herbaceous wetlands are often associated with a body of freshwater such as a river, stream, lake, lagoon, or pond, or the wetland's freshwater supply also can come from precipitation or groundwater upwelling. These marshes can be flooded for long periods of time or they may be inundated infrequently. Depending on their location with respect to the coast, some freshwater marshes can experience the influence of tides. The <i>Copernicia</i> or <i>Sabal</i> waterlogged savannas included in this macrogroup are secondary savannas that result from the frequent logging of timber species and fuel woods of the wooded swamps, followed by burning and grazing, a process which converts them into a <i>Sabal</i> wet grassland.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40948-{E1B1A225-E453-409C-BAE3-44A57D023D7D}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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