Ohio subset of Plant Communities of the Midwest ... - NatureServe

Open and Emergent Marshes: Great Lakes Coastal Marshes and Complex
Typha spp. - Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani - Mixed Herbs Southern Great Lakes Shore
Herbaceous Vegetation
Cattail Species - Softstem Bulrush - Mixed Herbs Southern Great Lakes Shore Herbaceous Vegetation
Southern Great Lakes Shore Emergent Marsh
CEGL005112
DESCRIPTION: Typical dominants include the emergents Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (= Scirpus
tabernaemontani) and Typha spp. (Typha angustifolia, Typha X glauca, Typha latifolia). Stands in Lake Erie and Lake
Ontario may contain more pure Typha angustifolia stands, or mixes of that species with Calamagrostis canadensis.
Thelypteris palustris is a common fern. Impatiens capensis may be common in open parts of the marsh. Floating and
rooted aquatics include Ceratophyllum demersum, Lemna minor, Nuphar lutea ssp. advena (= Nuphar advena),
Nymphaea odorata, Potamogeton gramineus, Sagittaria latifolia, and Spirodela polyrrhiza (Minc and Albert 1998).
Remaining stands in the area are primarily found in lacustrine estuaries, barrier-beach lagoons, or sand-spit swales.
In the Great Lakes the estuaries are often formed at the mouths of rivers drowned by the post-glacial rise in lake
level, whereas in the St. Lawrence River the estuaries are formed from small streams or rivers that occupy apparent
pre-glacial valleys that have been partly filled in by outwash and alluvial deposits to form fairly broad, flat basins.
Storms, seiches, and water level cycles create a very dynamic pattern of species composition and structure in the
vegetation. Water depth generally exceeds 0.3 m.
Storms, seiches, and water level cycles create a very dynamic pattern of vegetation (Minc 1996).
COMMENTS: 2, MCS. This type typically occurs as part of a Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Complex (CECX002002).
It is unclear whether stands in Green Bay area go with this type or with the Northern Great Lakes Emergent Marsh
type, Schoenoplectus acutus - Schoenoplectus subterminalis - Eleocharis palustris - (Scirpus americanus) Northern
Great Lakes Shore Herbaceous Vegetation (CEGL005274). In Wisconsin no stands are reported along the southwest
shore of Lake Michigan, so perhaps no "southern Great Lakes" type is needed there.
CONSERVATION RANK: G3G4. This type is found in at least 24 sites in the southern Great Lakes, as part of a number
of different Great Lakes Wetland Complexes, but many are disturbed. Only 12 sites were ranked A or B quality.
Marshes along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are often subject to high levels of agricultural disturbances characteristic
of the fertile, flat lakeplain soils, along with heavy manipulation of the shoreline through diking and rip-rap. As a result
exotics or invasive species such as Lythrum salicaria, Phalaris arundinacea, and Phragmites australis can be
common.
DISTRIBUTION: This deep emergent marsh community typically occurs in the southern Great Lakes region of the
United States and Canada, including southern Lake Michigan, Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and into the
St. Lawrence River, and possibly Lake Champlain.
USFS ECOREGIONS: 212Ea:CCC, 212Ec:CCP, 212Ee:CCP, 212Pa:C, 222Ia:CCC, 222Ib:CCP, 222Ie:CCP, 222If:CCC, 222J:CC,
222Q:CC
CONSERVATION REGIONS: 48:C, 64:C
STATES: MI NY OH PA VT WI PROVINCES: ON
MIDWEST HERITAGE SYNONYMY: MI Great Lakes marsh complex +
OH mixed emergent marsh +
WI deep marsh (southern great lakes subtype) =
OTHER SYNONYMY:
USNVC HIERARCHY: TYPHA (ANGUSTIFOLIA, LATIFOLIA) - (SCHOENOPLECTUS SPP.) SEMIPERMANENTLY FLOODED HERBACEOUS
ALLIANCE (V.A.5.N.l)
PLANT COMMUNITIES OF THE MIDWEST – 2001. APPENDIX: ASSOCIATION DESCRIPTIONS
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