The Natural Communities of Virginia
Classification of Ecological Community Groups
SECOND APPROXIMATION (Version 2.2)
Wet Prairies and Prairie Fens
These herbaceous wetlands occur on large stream or river floodplain terraces constantly saturated by perched groundwater or seepage from adjacent slopes. These very rare communities are limited in Virginia to a few sites in valleys of the Ridge and Valley region. Most of the remaining occurrences, two of which are protected, are located along the South River in Augusta County. Surficial soils consist of calcareous, blackish, clay-rich organic matter overlying dense clay and grayish sand at depths of 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16 in). Vegetation is diverse and generally graminoid-dominated; patch-dominance of sedges (
e.g .,
Carex stricta ,
Carex tetanica ,
Carex interior,
Carex buxbaumii,
Carex prairea,
Carex trichocarpa ,
Carex emoryi), baltic rush (
Juncus balticus var.
littoralis), bald spikerush (
Eleocharis erythropoda), freshwater cordgrass (
Spartina pectinata), switchgrass (
Panicum virgatum var. virgatum) and, at a single known Virginia site, holy grass (
Hierochloe odorata ssp. odorata) is typical. Many low-cover forbs are also components, including several state-rare and unusual species, such as queen-of-the-prairie (
Filipendula rubra), smooth loosestrife (
Lysimachia quadriflora), spotted joe-pye-weed (
Eupatorium maculatum), winged loosestrife (
Lythrum alatum var.
alatum), hooded skullcap (
Scutellaria galericulata),
rough avens (
Geum laciniatum var. trichocarpum and var.
laciniatum), purple fringeless orchid (
Platanthera peramoena), and vetchling (
Lathyrus palustris). Reed canary grass (
Phalaris arundinacea) is a native perennial grass that frequently becomes invasive in
disturbed wet prairies.
References: Hunsucker and Mueller (1998).
Click on the images below to open a larger image in a separate window.
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Wet, prairie-like grassland in the Mill Creek valley of Bath County. Emory's sedge (Carex emoryi) is the prominent graminoid in the foreground.
Photo: Gary P. Fleming.
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Baltic rush (Juncus balticus var. littoralis) and marsh fern (Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens) form dominance patches in a wet prairie along a tributary of the South River in Augusta County (Warehouse Marsh Natural Area).
Photo: Gary P. Fleming.
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Dense growth of tussock sedge (Carex stricta), freshwater cordgrass (Spartina pectinata), and woolgrass (Scirpus cyperinus) in a wet prairie along the South River in Augusta County.
Photo: Gary P. Fleming.
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REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNITY TYPES:
A single community type has been classified, based on four plots from two sites in Augusta County. It is unclear whether an additional site with similar vegetation in Bath County belongs to this type. The likelihood of finding additional examples of this group in Virginia is small.
Click on any highlighted CEGL code below to view the global USNVC description provided by
NatureServe Explorer.
- Carex tetanica – Carex prairea – Eleocharis erythropoda – Lysimachia quadriflora Herbaceous Vegetation
Shenandoah Valley Wet Prairie
USNVC:
= CEGL006170
Global/State Ranks:
G2Q/S1
