Community Field Guide
Scientific Name:
Eleocharis rostellata Herbaceous Vegetation
Common Name:
Beaked spikerush Herbaceous Vegetation
Community Description
Environment:
This community is restricted to thermal areas or areas with alkaline or calcareous soils, especially at the northern edge of it's distribution. It is also found around cold springs in desert canyons. It occurs in intermontane valleys (Lesica 1990), in wet basins and adjacent to streams, rivers, and ponds (Hansen et al. 1995). This community type is known to occur in a variety of soils from relatively deep organic soils, to alkaline and calcareous soils, to coarse wet mineral soils that are directly in contact with thermal waters. It occurs in spring-fed wetlands that are saturated throughout the year, often with water running over the ground surface through the stands (Moseley 1995).
Vegetation:
The community type forms near monocultures, and may occur as a quaking mat, or may be more open with considerable areas of bare soil, gravel, rock, and open water (Moseley 1995). Hansen et al. (1995), state that Eleocharis rostellata dominates a low (less than 30 cm) herbaceous layer.
Range:
Eleocharis rostellata is a minor type in Idaho, Montana, and Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, and may occur in Washington, British Columbia, and other parts of Wyoming.
Management:
This community type is threatened by development of thermal areas for recreation (Lesica 1991). Because of the wet, often-unstable nature of the substrate, soil disturbance and grazing by livestock is probably minimal. Yet trampling damage of the wet, organic soils of this association could occur readily with any livestock utilization. Livestock may graze forage plants in this association, but overgrazing can cause compositional changes to species of lower palatability (Hansen et al. 1995).
Global Rank: State Rank: S1
Community References
Identifier:
CEGLMTHP32
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This information is from the:
Montana Natural Heritage Program
Montana State Library--Natural Resource Information System
1515 East Sixth Ave., Helena, MT 59620-1800
406 444-3989
mtnhp.org
mtnhp@mt.gov
