Classification of Vegetation Communities of Maryland: First Iteration

V. HERBACEOUS VEGETATION
V.B.2.N.g. Tidal temperate perennial forb vegetation
V.B.2.N.g.4. SARCOCORNIA PERENNIS - (DISTICHLIS SPICATA, SALICORNIA SPP.) TIDAL HERBACEOUS ALLIANCE
Woody Glasswort - (Saltgrass, Saltwort species) Tidal Herbaceous Alliance

Concept:

Comments: This alliance is reported from two very disjunct areas, California and New Hampshire. In California it is very poorly known, and documented only by Sawyer and Keeler-Wolf (1995). Not enough information was available to complete a description of this alliance at this time, and the two associations (one from New Hampshire and one from California) need to be reviewed to determine if they belong to the same alliance.

Range: This alliance is found in Oregon (?), California (?), Washington (?), and New Hampshire.

States/Provinces: CT DE MA MD ME NB NC? NH NJ NS NY RI SC? VA

TNC Ecoregions: 57:P, 58:C, 62:C, 63:C

USFS Ecoregions: 212C:PP, 212D:PP, 221Aa:CCC, 221Ab:CCC, 221Ac:CCC, 221Ad:CCC, 221Ak:CCC, 232Aa:CCC, 232Ab:CCC, 232Ac:CCC, 232Ad:CC?, 232Bx:CCC, 232Bz:CCC, 232Ci:CCP, 261A:CC, 261B:CC, 263A:CC, M242A:CC

Federal Lands: NPS (Assateague Island, Fire Island)

Synonymy: Estuarine Intertidal: Salt Marsh (Swain and Kearsley 2001)

References: Breeding et al. 1974, Sawyer and Keeler-Wolf 1995, Swain and Kearsley 2001

Authors: M.S. REID, West Identifier: A.1704

Concept: This association represents tidally flooded hypersaline flats or very shallow depressions (pannes) dominated by halophytic herbs, including Salicornia virginica, Salicornia bigelovii, Salicornia maritima, and stunted Spartina alterniflora, that occur along the Atlantic coast. Vegetation of this association tends to develop in shallow depressions within high salt marshes where drainage is poor. The depressions are flooded by high tides, but as the water evaporates during low tide, the salinity concentration increases forming 'salt pannes.' Formation of the pannes may result from ice scouring, rafting flotsam, peat compaction, mosquito ditch levees, or erosion of tidal creek banks, which create small, sparsely vegetated to unvegetated impoundments. Pannes form in both high and low salt marsh habitats; this community is regularly to irregularly flooded by tides. Bare peat and/or mucky soils are prevalent (up to 85% bare soils). Total vegetative cover is variable in pannes, from near total absence of vascular plants to a dense cover of Salicornia virginica, Salicornia bigelovii, Salicornia maritima, or Spartina alterniflora (short form). Common associates include Limonium carolinianum, Plantago maritima var. juncoides, Triglochin maritima, Suaeda maritima, and Atriplex spp. Algal mats are characteristically present, visible even in densely vegetated pannes. Blue-green algae are an important component of these mats, in some cases contributing significantly more biomass to the community than do vascular species. Diagnostic species include Salicornia bigelovii and Salicornia virginica.

Comments: This community occurs in coastal salt marshes from Nova Scotia to the Carolinas, north of the range of Batis maritima. Salt pannes can potentially be classified based on morphology, salinity gradients, or substrate (Godfrey et al. 1978), which may elucidate further variation.

Range: This association occurs along the Mid- and North Atlantic Coast from the Canadian maritime provinces south to North Carolina.

States/Provinces: CT:S?, DE:S3, MA:S3, MD:S?, ME:S3, NB:S?, NC?, NH:S?, NJ:S3S4, NS:S?, NY:S3, RI:S?, SC?, VA:S?

TNC Ecoregions: 57:P, 58:C, 62:C, 63:C

USFS Ecoregions: 212C:PP, 212D:PP, 221Aa:CCC, 221Ab:CCC, 221Ac:CCC, 221Ad:CCC, 221Ak:CCC, 232Aa:CCC, 232Ab:CCC, 232Ac:CCC, 232Ad:CC?, 232Bx:CCC, 232Bz:CCC, 232Ci:CCP

Federal Lands: NPS (Assateague Island, Fire Island)

Synonymy: Salt Flat (Schafale 2000), Pans (Hill 1986) =. Assateague Island., Pans (Higgins et al. 1971) =. Assateague Island., Salt marsh complex, pannes (Breden 1989) =. New Jersey., Salt panne (Reschke 1990) =. New York., Spartina alterniflora / Salicornia europaea community (Clancy 1993b) =. Delaware., Salt panne (Clancy 1993b) =. Delaware., Pan (Nichols 1920) =. Connecticut., Panne (Good 1965) =. New Jersey., Salicornia tidal flat (Clovis 1968) =. Virginia., Salt pan (Klotz 1986) =. Virginia., Salicornia - Bassia salt flat (Harvill 1965) =. Virginia., Salicornietum ambiguae (Conard 1935) =. New York., Salt panne (Miller and Egler 1950) =. Connecticut., Stunted Spartina alterniflora community (Miller and Egler 1950) =. Connecticut., Panne marsh (Baumann 1978b) =. Virginia., Salt Marsh (Rawinski 1984). formerly Southern New England and Gulf of Maine Salt Marshes., Salicornia europaea - Spartina alterniflora community (Metzler and Barrett 1992) =. Connecticut.

References: Baumann 1978b, Berdine 1998, Bertness et al. 1992, Bowman 2000, Breden 1989, Breden et al. 2001, Clancy 1993b, Clovis 1968, Conard 1935, Edinger et al. 2002, Enser 1999, Fleming 2001, Fleming et al. 2001, Gawler 2001, Gawler 2002, Godfrey et al. 1978, Good 1965, Harvill 1965, Higgins et al. 1971, Hill 1986, Klotz 1986, Metzler and Barrett 1992, Metzler and Barrett 2001, Miller and Egler 1950, Nichols 1920, Niering and Warren 1980, Peet et al. 2002, Rawinski 1984, Redfield 1972, Reschke 1990, Schafale 2000, Schafale and Weakley 1990, Sperduto 2000b, Swain and Kearsley 2001, Webber 1967

Authors: S.L. Neid, ECS Confidence: 2 Identifier: CEGL004308

- Maryland Vegetation Classification Subset Report V.B. Perennial forb vegetation

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