Carex nebrascensis Herbaceous Alliance
Nebraska sedge meadows

USDA Ecological Section Map

Summary Information

  • Primary Life FormHerb
  • Elevation60-2700 m
  • State RarityS4
  • Global RarityG5
  • DistributionUSA: AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NE, NM, NV, OR, SD, UT, WA, WY (NatureServe)
  • Endemic to CaliforniaNo
  • Endemic to California Floristic Province and DesertsNo
  • Date Added1995/11/01

Characteristic Species

Carex nebrascensis is dominant or co-dominant in the herbaceous layer with Achillea millefolium, Bistorta bistortoides, Calamagrostis stricta, Carex microptera, Carex praegracilis, Carex simulata, Carex utriculata, Deschampsia cespitosa, Eleocharis macrostachya, Eleocharis palustris, Eleocharis quinqueflora, Epilobium ciliatum, Glyceria elata, Juncus arcticus, Juncus nevadensis, Mimulus primuloides, Muhlenbergia filiformis, Muhlenbergia richardsonis, Perideridia parishii, Poa pratensis, Ptilagrostis kingii, Schoenoplectus pungens and Trifolium spp.

Vegetation Layers

Herbs < 1 m; cover is intermittent to continuous.

Membership Rules

  • C. nebrascensis > 5% absolute cover; if Oxypolis occidentalis, C. utriculata, or C. vesicaria present, then C. nebrascensis is > 50% relative cover (Potter 2005).
  • Carex nebrascensis > 25% relative cover and exceeding other species such as Eleocharis quinqueflora in cover in the herbaceous layer (Ratliff 1982).

Habitats

Fens, wet meadows; rarely along streamsides or lake basins. Soils are usually deep alluvium with organic surface layers. The USFWS Wetland Inventory (1996 national list) recognizes Carex nebrascensis as an OBL plant.

Other Habitat, Alliance and Community Groupings

MCV (1995) Nebraska sedge series
NVCS (2009) Carex nebrascensis seasonally flooded herbaceous alliance
Calveg Wet grasses and forbs
Holland Wet montane meadow, Freshwater seep, Fen
Munz Freshwater marsh
WHR Wet meadow
CDFW CA Code 45.130.00

National Vegetation Classification Hierarchy

Formation Class Mesomorphic Shrub and Herb Vegetation (Shrubland and Grassland)
Formation Subclass Temperate and Boreal Shrubland and Grassland
Formation Temperate Grassland, Meadow, and Shrubland
Division Vancouverian and Rocky Mountain Grassland and Shrubland
Macro Group Western Cordilleran montane-boreal wet meadow
Group Western cordilleran montane-boreal mesic wet meadow