Classification of Vegetation Communities of Maryland: First Iteration

V. HERBACEOUS VEGETATION
V.A.5.N.n. Tidal temperate or subpolar grassland
V.A.5.N.n.14. ZIZANIA AQUATICA TIDAL HERBACEOUS ALLIANCE
Indian Wild Rice Tidal Herbaceous Alliance

Concept: This alliance contains freshwater tidal marshes dominated by tall graminoids. Zizania aquatica is usually dominant or codominant with other graminoids such as Typha angustifolia, Schoenoplectus fluviatilis (=Scirpus fluviatilis) and Sparganium eurycarpum. These marshes typically occur along tidal river systems (in shallow bays, shoals, or at the mouth) within the reach of the tide, but beyond the influence of saline waters. Soils are highly variable and are composed of varying amounts of silts, silty mucks, fine peat, to very coarse sands. Other characteristic species include Sagittaria latifolia, Leersia oryzoides, Amaranthus cannabinus, Impatiens capensis, Bidens bidentoides, Acorus americanus, and Echinochloa walteri. In the Southeast, Zizania aquatica-dominated vegetation occurs primarily as fringing marshes along tidal freshwater rivers. Communities of this alliance occur in Coastal Plain from Maine south and west to Louisiana.

Range: Communities of this alliance occur in coastal plain from Maine south and west to Louisiana. This alliance is found in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Virginia, and possibly Florida (?), Georgia (?), and South Carolina (?).

States/Provinces: AL CT DE FL? GA? LA MA MD ME MS NC NJ NY RI SC? VA

TNC Ecoregions: 53:C, 55:P, 56:?, 57:C, 58:C, 61:C, 62:C

USFS Ecoregions: 212Da:PPP, 212Db:PPP, 212Dc:PPP, 212Ea:P??, 221Aa:CCP, 221Ab:CC?, 221Ac:CC?, 221Ad:CCC, 221Ae:CCP, 221Af:CCC, 221Ag:CCC, 221Ak:CCP, 221Ba:C??, 222Ie:???, 232Aa:CCP, 232Ab:CCC, 232Ac:CCP, 232Ad:CCC, 232Bb:CCP, 232Bc:CCP, 232Bd:CCP, 232Br:CCC, 232Bt:CCC, 232Bx:CCC, 232Bz:CCC, 232Cb:CCP, 232Ce:CCC, 232Ch:CCP, 232Ci:CCP, 232Cj:CCP, 232Db:CCP, 232Dc:CCC

Federal Lands: USFS (Croatan)

Synonymy: Tidal Freshwater Marsh, in part (Schafale and Weakley 1990); Wild Rice Community Type (Odum et al. 1984); Estuarine Intertidal: Freshwater Tidal Marsh (Swain and Kearsley 2001)

References: Odum et al. 1984, Schafale and Weakley 1990, Swain and Kearsley 2001, Wharton 1978

Authors: A.S. WEAKLEY, JT, East Identifier: A.1484

Concept: This is a freshwater tidal marsh characterized by Zizania aquatica that occurs in oligohaline zones of tidal rivers along the north and mid-Atlantic coast of North America. These marshes occur in the lower reaches of freshwater tidal systems, in fresh to slightly brackish areas along flats that are infrequently exposed at very low tides. Soils are highly variable and are composed of varying amounts of silts, silty mucks, fine peat, to very coarse sands. Zizania aquatica is dominant, although only conspicuously so in mid to late summer, when it overtops early season vegetation. This community can be codominated by species such as Pontederia cordata, Peltandra virginica, Polygonum arifolium, Polygonum punctatum, and/or Bidens spp. Common associates are generally a mixture of freshwater and brackish species and can include Sagittaria latifolia, Ludwigia palustris, Impatiens capensis, Leersia oryzoides, Amaranthus cannabinus, Hibiscus moscheutos, Sium suave, Acorus americanus, and Schoenoplectus fluviatilis. This vegetation provides an important food source for migratory birds.

Range: This association occurs along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from Maine and Massachusetts south to North Carolina, possibly extending into South Carolina and Georgia.

States/Provinces: CT:S?, DE:S3, FL?, GA?, MA:S1, MD:S3, ME:S2, MS:S?, NC:S3, NJ:S2S3, NY:S2, RI:S?, SC?, VA:S?

TNC Ecoregions: 56:?, 57:C, 58:C, 61:C, 62:C

USFS Ecoregions: 221Ad:CCC, 221Af:CCC, 221Ag:CCC, 232Ab:CCC, 232Ad:CCC, 232Br:CCC, 232Bt:CCC, 232Bx:CCC, 232Bz:CCC, 232Cb:CCP, 232Ce:CCC, 232Ch:CCP, 232Ci:CCP, 232Cj:CCP

Federal Lands: USFS (Croatan)

Synonymy: Tidal Freshwater Marsh (Wild Rice Subtype) (Schafale 2000), Wild Rice Community Type (Odum et al. 1984), Freshwater Tidal Marsh: Wild Rice - Smartweed Type (McCoy and Fleming 2000), Freshwater tidal marsh complex, midtidal zone (Breden 1989), Zizania aquatica marsh community (Barrett 1989), Zizania aquatica - Polygonum punctatum Tidal Herbaceous Vegetation (Coulling 2002), FW Tidal Marsh (Rawinski 1984). formerly Southern New England FW Tidal.

References: Barrett 1989, Barrett 1994, Bowman 2000, Breden 1989, Breden et al. 2001, Coulling 2002, Edinger et al. 2002, Enser 1999, Ferren and Good 1977, Fleming et al. 2001, Gawler 2001, Gawler 2002, Good and Good 1975b, Harrison 2001, McCormick and Ashbaugh 1972, McCormick et al. 1970, McCoy and Fleming 2000, Metzler and Barrett 2001, Metzler and Rosza 1982, Odum et al. 1984, Rawinski 1984, Reschke 1990, Schafale 2000, Schafale and Weakley 1990, Swain and Kearsley 2001, Wharton 1978

Authors: S.L. Neid, ECS Confidence: 2 Identifier: CEGL004202

- Maryland Vegetation Classification Subset Report V.A. Perennial graminoid vegetation

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