Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Carex vaginata
Introductory
SPECIES: Carex vaginata
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Walsh, Roberta A. 1994. Carex vaginata. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/graminoid/carvag/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
CARVAG
SYNONYMS :
Carex saltuensis Bailey [7,9,21]
SCS PLANT CODE :
CAVA2
COMMON NAMES :
sheathed sedge
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name of sheathed sedge is Carex
vaginata Tausch [1,9,11]. It is in the family Cyperaceae. There are no
currently accepted infrataxa.
The American plant is sometimes separated taxonomically and named Carex
saltuensis Bailey [7].
LIFE FORM :
Graminoid
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Carex vaginata
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
The distribution of sheathed sedge is circumboreal [1,12]. It extends
south in the United States to Maine and west to northern Minnesota. It
extends across Canada, but has not been reported from Manitoba [7,9,11].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES10 White - red - jack pine
FRES11 Spruce - fir
STATES :
AK ME MI MN NY VT WI AB BC NB
NF NT ON PQ SK YT
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
NO-ENTRY
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K093 Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
K094 Conifer bog
K095 Great Lakes pine forest
K096 Northeastern spruce - fir forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
1 Jack pine
5 Balsam fir
12 Black spruce
13 Black spruce - tamarack
37 Northern white-cedar
107 White spruce
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
In the western area of the Northwest Territories, (south of the arctic
circle and to the west of Great Bear Lake) in a subarctic black spruce
(Picea mariana) ecosystem, sheathed sedge is one of nine species that
form the dominant understory cover and biomass of the vascular plants.
The other associated species are bog Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum),
crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), blueberry willow (Salix myrtillifolia),
littletree willow (Salix arbusculoides), red fruit bearberry
(Arctostaphylos rubra), bog blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum), sedge
(Carex membranacea), and polargrass (Arctagrostis latifolia) [13].
Sheathed sedge is associated with a wide variety of species. Associated
species are listed for white spruce (Picea glauca)-green alder (Alnus
crispa)-willow (Salix spp.) communities in northwestern Northwest
Territories [10]. Associates are listed for low shrub birch (Betula
glandulosa)-willow-green alder communities and for white spruce (Picea
glauca)-balsam poplar (Populus balsamifer) communities in south-central
Alaska [20]. Associates are also listed for the boreal forest of
eastern Ontario and western Quebec [3], northern Ontario [17], and
central Saskatchewan, Canada [5].
Sheathed sedge grows in tundra communities as well as in the boreal
forest [23].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Carex vaginata
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
NO-ENTRY
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Sheathed sedge and other vegetation in wet sedge meadows underlain by
permafrost in the northwestern Northwest Territories are highly
susceptible to disturbance by roads and seismic lines in summer. They
are least affected by winter operations. Sheathed sedge increased from
0 percent to 2.1 percent cover (equal to control plots) over 2 years on
the disturbed seismic lines [10].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Carex vaginata
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Sheathed sedge is a native, perennial, monoecious graminoid [12]. Culms
are 4 to 24 inches (10-60 cm) tall [7,9]. Principal foliage leaves are
basal [11], mostly shorter than the culms [7], and 0.06 to 0.20 inches
(1.5-5 mm) wide [1,7]. The terminal inflorescence is a spike 0.4 to 0.8
inches (1-2 cm) long; there are one to three lateral spikes as well.
The fruit is a small triangular achene [1]. The perigynia surrounding
the achene is ovoid and 0.12 to 0.20 inches (3-5 mm) long [7]. There
are 3 to 20 perigynia per spike [1]. Sheathed sedge has long, slender
rhizomes [7,9]; it also has stolons [7,12].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Hemicryptophyte
Geophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Sheathed sedge sprouts from perennating buds at the base of the culms
and from rhizomes and stolons [7]. It also reproduces by seed [9].
In disturbed sites in the northwestern Northwest Territories, sheathed
sedge grew and expanded from intact rhizomes. Some seed establishment
may also have occurred [10].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Sheathed sedge occurs on a wide variety of substrates and in a variety
of moisture regimes, from hydric to mesic. It occurs in moist to wet
mossy woods, bogs, and other wet places [11,12]. In west-central
Alberta it occurs on poor to rich, wet soils [4]. In boreal forest in
central Saskatchewan, sheathed sedge occurs on soil that shows no
evidence of standing water at any time during the year [5].
In south-central Alaska sheathed sedge occurs on soils containing 70 to
85 percent sand [20]. In the northeastern United States it occurs
chiefly on calcareous soils [7,9]. Sheathed sedge in boreal forest in
eastern Ontario occurs on wet coniferous sites with acidic peat
substrates [3]. Sheathed sedge at some sites in south-central Alaska
occurs on soil with pH of 5.4 to 6.7 [20].
In Alaska sheathed sedge occurs from sea level to at least 2,494 feet
(760 m) elevation [12,20]. In west-central Alberta it is found from
1,641 to 4,593 feet (500-1,400 m) [4].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Facultative Seral Species
Most information on the role of sheathed sedge in succession is related
to fire. See the Plant Response to Fire section of FIRE EFFECTS.
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Sheathed sedge blooms from June to August in the central and
northeastern United States and adjacent Canada [7,16].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Carex vaginata
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Since sheathed sedge reproduces vegetatively [7,9], it probably sprouts
from rhizomes after aerial portions are burned. Sheathed sedge is
long-rhizomed, and has a rather diffuse growth form [7]. However, where
thicker tufts form, they may protect basal buds from fire damage.
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
Tussock graminoid
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Carex vaginata
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Sheathed sedge culms are probably top-killed by fire during the growing
season.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Vegetation regrowth after fire is very fast in low arctic tundra sedge
(Carex spp.)-dominated communities [23]. Sedges increase in importance
following fire in these habitats [22].
Sheathed sedge in northern Ontario was sparse at the beginning of
succession after fire. Its numbers continued to rise for 10 years. It
then disappeared over about a 2-year period as black spruce and jack
pine (Pinus banksiana) began to regenerate [17].
Sheathed sedge occurs in the central Saskatchewan boreal forest, which
has had a history of frequent fire. Sheathed sedge in previously burned
sites in this region occurred at a frequency of 31 percent in balsam
poplar stands. Balsam poplar is considered a pioneer species. Sheathed
sedge occurred at a frequency of 1 to 9 percent in later successional
stands, dominated by jack pine and black spruce, and did not occur at
all in climax vegetation [5].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Carex vaginata
REFERENCES :
1. Anderson, J. P. 1959. Flora of Alaska and adjacent parts of Canada.
Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press. 543 p. [9928]
2. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
3. Carleton, T. J.; Maycock, P. F. 1980. Vegetation of the boreal forests
south of James Bay: non-centered component analysis of the vascular
flora. Ecology. 61(5): 1199-1212. [14734]
4. Corns, I. G. W.; Annas, R. M. 1986. Field guide to forest ecosystems of
west-central Alberta. Edmonton, AB: Canadian Forestry Service, Northern
Forestry Centre. 251 p. [8998]
5. Dix, R. L.; Swan, J. M. A. 1971. The roles of disturbance and succession
in upland forest at Candle Lake, Saskatchewan. Canadian Journal of
Botany. 49: 657-676. [12808]
6. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
7. Fernald, Merritt Lyndon. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. [Corrections
supplied by R. C. Rollins]. Portland, OR: Dioscorides Press. 1632 p.
(Dudley, Theodore R., gen. ed.; Biosystematics, Floristic & Phylogeny
Series; vol. 2). [14935]
8. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
9. Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of
northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. 2nd ed. New York: New
York Botanical Garden. 910 p. [20329]
10. Hernandez, Helios. 1973. Natural plant recolonization of surficial
disturbances, Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula region, Northwest Territories.
Canadian Journal of Botany. 51: 2177-2196. [20372]
11. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1973. Flora of the Pacific
Northwest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 730 p. [1168]
12. Hulten, Eric. 1968. Flora of Alaska and neighboring territories.
Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 1008 p. [13403]
13. Kershaw, G. P. 1988. The use of controlled surface disturbances in the
testing of reclamation treatments in the subarctic. In: Kershaw, Peter,
ed. Northern environmental disturbances. Occas. Publ. No. 24. Edmonton,
AB: University of Alberta, Boreal Institute for Northern Studies: 59-70.
[14420]
14. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
15. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
16. Seymour, Frank Conkling. 1982. The flora of New England. 2d ed.
Phytologia Memoirs 5. Plainfield, NJ: Harold N. Moldenke and Alma L.
Moldenke. 611 p. [7604]
17. Shafi, M. I.; Yarranton, G. A. 1973. Vegetational heterogeneity during a
secondary (postfire) succession. Canadian Journal of Botany. 51: 73-90.
[15191]
18. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
19. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
20. Viereck, Leslie A. 1966. Plant succession and soil development on gravel
outwash of the Muldrow Glacier, Alaska. Ecological Monographs. 36(3):
181-199. [12484]
21. Voss, Edward G. 1972. Michigan flora. Part I. Gymnosperms and monocots.
Bloomfield Hills, MI: Cranbrook Institute of Science; Ann Arbor, MI:
University of Michigan Herbarium. 488 p. [11471]
22. Wein, R. W. 1974. Recovery of vegetation in arctic regions after
burning. Rep. 74-6. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Task Force on Northern Oil
Development. 41 p. [13001]
23. Wein, Ross W. 1975. Arctic tundra fires--ecological consequences. In:
Proceedings, circumpolar conference on northern ecology; [Date unknown];
[Location unknown]. [Place of publication unknown]: Canadian Resource
Council, National Science Committee, Committee on Problems of the
Environment: I-167 to I-174. On file with: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT. [12999]
FEIS Home Page
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