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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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KUCHLER TYPE
KUCHLER TYPE: Tule marshes
KUCHLER-TYPE-NUMBER :
K049
PHYSIOGNOMY :
Tall graminoid vegetation
OCCURRENCE :
Widespread, greatest extent in the Central Valley of California and
along the northeastern banks of Great Salt Lake, Utah [5]. Tule marshes
have been severely reduced. Two marshes were listed by Kuchler [5] in
northern Nevada, but no information was found about marshes in Nevada.
This report focuses on marshes of the Central Valley and the Great Salt
Lake only.
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
S. A. Snyder, January 1994
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Snyder, S. A. 1994. Tule marshes. In: Remainder of Citation
Kuchler Type Index
FEIS Home
KUCHLER TYPE DESCRIPTION
PHYSIOGRAPHY :
The Central Valley of California is characterized by flat and gently
rolling terrain between the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada. Elevations
rise as high as 2,500 feet (762 m) at its eastern limit [9]. The
marshes of the Great Salt Lake occur on the northeastern shores of the
lake, where water levels are shallow and salt flats are present. Some
diking has been built to maintain water levels and retain fresh water
[10].
CLIMATE :
Average annual rainfall in the Central Valley is 50 inches (1,250 mm) [4].
Others report that average annual rainfall is 8 to 13 inches (200-330 mm)
[9]. Most of the ground moisture is maintained by runoff from
surrounding mountains [4]. Precipitation falls mostly as winter rain.
Temperatures can range from below freezing in winter to more than 100
degrees Fahrenheit (>38 deg C) in summer. Average winter temperature is
55 degrees Fahrenheit (12.8 deg C), and average summer temperature is 75
degrees Fahrenheit (23.9 deg C) [9].
The Great Salt Lake region is arid. Average annual precipitation is 12
inches (30.4 cm). Average July temperature is 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25
deg C). Average January temperature is 9 degrees Fahrenheit (-13 deg C)
[10].
SOILS :
Soils in the Great Salt Lake region are dense and fine grained below an
organic layer that is typically 4 to 8 inches (10-20 cm) thick [10].
VEGETATION :
Dominant vegetation as listed by Kuchler [5] includes hardstem bulrush
(Scirpus acutus), California bulrush (S. californicus), American bulrush
(S. olneyi), softstem bulrush (S. validus), southern cattail (Typha
domingensis), and common cattail (T. latifolia). Other important
species include narrowleaved cattail (T. angustifolia), slough sedge
(Carex obnupta), swamp sedge (C. senta), and common spikerush
(Eleocharis palustris).
Citations listing Scirpus and Typha species as part of a plant community
classification in California are as follows:
Plant communities of southern California [6].
A vegetation classification system applied to southern California [9].
WILDLIFE :
Central Valley and Great Salt Lake marshes support many species of
waterfowl including geese, swans, ducks, white pelicans, and cranes.
Other wildlife includes muskrat, fish, turtles, and invertebrates
[1,14]. Tule elk, a rare subspecies of elk native to California and
named for the marshes they once inhabited, are now confined to Tupman
Reserve near Bakersfield [1].
ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS :
In California either cattails or bulrush can colonize flooded sites
first. Cattail is usually followed by bulrush. Both species establish
in shallow water and may migrate to deeper water through creeping
rhizomes. As of yet, there have been no reports of seed germination in
deep water. Once established in deep water, however, cattail and
bulrush stands tend to be more stable than in shallower water. Cattail
and bulrush rhizomes can rapidly fill in shallow water sites,
eliminating the marsh [7].
Dominant emergents in the marshes of Great Salt Lake after diking are
saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), cattails, bulrush, and common reed
(Phragmites austalis) [10].
Succession has been described following draining, burning, and flooding
during September in a Great Salt Lake marsh. Shade tolerance was an
important factor in succession. Shade tolerant species included
cattails, bulrush, duckpotato arrowhead (Sagittaria cuneata), and
creeping spikerush (Eleocharis palustris). All of these species were
present the summer after burning, in addition to saltgrass, sego
pondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus), and horned pondweed (Zannichellia
palustris) [12].
Seedbank studies in Great Salt Lake marshes show that cattail and
bulrush germinate in higher densities in moist soil conditions than
under submerged conditions [11]. For more information refer to
individual species writeups in the FEIS database.
KUCHLER TYPE VALUE AND USE
KUCHLER TYPE: Tule marshes
FORESTRY VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
RANGE VALUES :
Herbage production for tule marshes has been listed as 0 to 3,000 pounds
per acre [4].
WILDLIFE VALUES :
The Central Valley supports more than 50 percent of the total wintering
waterfowl in the Pacific Flyway [1]. These wetlands also provide
valuable wintering habitat for other migrating birds [8].
OTHER VALUES :
Many tule marshes in the Central Valley have been drained to grow
asparagus, sugar beets, potatoes, corn, hay, and grains [4]. Waterfowl
hunting areas are also found in the Central Valley [1]. The Northern
Paiute Indians use tule marshes in Nevada for food, clothing, houses,
boats, and many other products [3].
MANAGEMENT CONCERNS :
By 1978 wetlands of the Central Valley had shrunk to about 4 percent of
their original extent. They have further declined since that time.
Much of the wetlands today are privately owned for waterfowl hunting
[1].
KUCHLER TYPE FIRE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
KUCHLER TYPE: Tule marshes
FUELS, FLAMMABILITY, AND FIRE OCCURRENCE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE EFFECTS ON SITE :
Prescribed burns in a Great Salt Lake marsh showed no significant
effects on soil compaction or organic matter loss. Tables are listed
for average heat penetration into the soil [10].
FIRE EFFECTS ON VEGETATION :
Prescribed fires were conducted in a Great Salt Lake marsh in early
September following April drawdowns. Burned and unburned sites were
flooded 1 week after the fires. Total production of bulrush and
cattail did not differ between burned and unburned sites. Bulrush
sprouted following the fire and grew to 1.3 feet (0.4 m) by the first
winter. Shoot mass of bulrush was reduced on burned sites, and new
shoots had a lower biomass per inch of length than shoots on unburned
sites. Cattail sprouted following the burn, but cattail stands had a
lower standing crop on burned sites at the end of the first postfire
growing season than before burning [13].
FIRE EFFECTS ON RESOURCE MANAGEMENT :
Because both egrets and herons use dead hardstem bulrush vegetation
almost exclusively as nesting substrate, areas of unburned bulrush
stands should be maintained for nesting habitat when prescribing marsh
burns [2].
FIRE USE CONSIDERATIONS :
Without fire many wetland areas could eventually fill in as vegetation
chokes out open water areas [8].
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REHABILITATION OF SITES FOLLOWING WILDFIRE :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
KUCHLER TYPE: Tule marshes
REFERENCES :
1. Airola, Daniell A.; Messick, Timothy C. 1987. Sliding toward extinction:
the state of California's natural heritage, 1987. Report prepared at the
request of the California Senate Committee on Natural Resources and
Wildlife. [Location of publisher unknown]: [Publisher unknown]. 123 p.
On file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT.
[19482]
2. Bray, Martin Paul. 1984. An evaluation of heron and egret marsh nesting
habitat and possible effects of burning. Murrelet. 65: 57-59. [6875]
3. Fowler, Catherine S. 1990. Tule technology: Northern Paiute uses of
marsh resources in western Nevada. Smithsonian Folklife Studies No. 6.
Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. 181 p. [22207]
4. 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]
5. 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]
6. Latting, June, ed. 1976. Symposium proceedings--plant communities of
southern California. Special Publication No. 2. Berkeley, CA: California
Native Plant Society. 164 p. [1414]
7. Mason, Herbert L. 1957. A flora of the marshes of California. Berkeley,
CA: University of California Press. 878 p. [16905]
8. Miller, A. Wendell. 1962. Waterfowl habitat improvement in California.
In: Proceedings, annual conference of Western Association of State Fish
& Game Commissioners. [Volume unknown]: 112-118. [15439]
9. Paysen, Timothy E.; Derby, Jeanine A.; Black, Hugh, Jr.; [and others].
1980. A vegetation classification system applied to southern California.
Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-45. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station.
33 p. [1849]
10. Smith, Loren Michael. 1983. Effects of prescribed burning on the ecology
of a Utah marsh. Logan, UT: Utah State University. 159 p. Dissertation.
[10218]
11. Smith, Loren M.; Kadlec, John A. 1983. Seed banks and their role during
drawdown of a North American marsh. Journal of Applied Ecology. 20:
673-684. [11196]
12. Smith, Loren M.; Kadlec, John A. 1985. Predictions of vegetation change
following fire in a Great Salt Lake Marsh. Aquatic Botany. 21: 43-51.
[10497]
13. Smith, Loren M.; Kadlec, John A. 1985. Fire and herbivory in a Great
Salt Lake marsh. Ecology. 66(1): 259-265. [7619]
14. Smith, Loren M.; Kadlec, John A. 1986. Habitat management for wildlife
in marshes of Great Salt Lake. Trans., North American Wildlife and
Natural Resource Conference. 51: 222-231. [11428]
Index
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