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You are here >1Up Info > Wildlife, Animals, and Plants > Plant Species > Graminoid > Species: Carex bigelowii | Bigelow Sedge
 

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BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

SPECIES: Carex bigelowii | Bigelow Sedge
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : Bigelow sedge is a long-lived perennial, exhibiting a more or less uniform graminoid growth form [2]. The culms are stiff and arise singly or in small tufts. They are generally 4 to 16 inches (10-41 cm) high. The stiff, dark-green basal leaves are 8 to 20 to a culm, with the dried leaves of the previous year persisting. Flower morphology has been examined in detail [1,12,16,17]. Bigelow sedge is strongly stoloniferous [16]. Rhizomes are mostly elongate, so the plant is not tussock-forming. Roots are adventitious and are produced at the nodes at the base of erect shoots [35]. Rooting depth is generally to mineral soil [19,33]. In the arctic, distinguishing between Bigelow sedge and water sedge (C. aquatilis var. aquatilis and var. stans) based on morphological differentiation is very difficult [35]. RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : Phanerophyte (Nanophanerophyte) Chamaephyte Cryptophyte (Geophyte) REGENERATION PROCESSES : Bigelow sedge reproduces predominantly by vegetative means, forming extensive clones of interconnected rhizomes [5]. Aboveground portions of tillers may live up to 4 years, after which the rhizomes continue to grow and remain active, persisting for 12 years or longer [2,5]. Growth of the plant results in directional clones; tillers exploit new space by producing long rhizomes with an indefinte numbers of elongated internodes [5,35]. Competition between tillers of the same clone is reduced in this way, which may be important in arctic areas where nutrient levels can be extremely low. Growth of a ramet is dependent on the age of the parent tiller at the time the ramet is initiated. Clonal plants such as Bigelow sedge that have persistant connections between ramets generally have very low mortality rates in the youngest age classes. However, young Bigelow sedge tillers may have a high mortality rate when compared to other clonal species [5]. Bigelow sedge also reproduces sexually, producing at least some viable seed [5]. Shoots flower after 2 years of age and are wind pollinated [35]. Well-developed dormancy mechanisms allow for the incorporation of Bigelow sedge seed into the buried seed pool [15]. Seeds buried up to 200 years may germinate, but seedlings of younger seeds (buried 1 to 20 years) are more vigorous [37]. Seedling recruitment after disturbance is 8 to 12 times higher on organic soil than on mineral soil [15]. SITE CHARACTERISTICS : Bigelow sedge is found in a wide range of habitats including open rocky sites [16,31], gravel slopes [16], dry or wet tundra [26,31,37], solifluction slopes [10,17,37], and subalpine and alpine meadows and bogs [16,18,24,34]. It occurs at elevations ranging from 6,000 to 12,000 feet (1,818-3,636 m) in the Rocky Mountains [16]. Common associated species include willows (Salix spp.), dwarf arctic birch (Betula nana), lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), bog blueberry (V. uliginosum), crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), northern Labrador tea (Ledum palustre), American green alder (Alnus crispa), cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), alpine bearberry (Arctostaphylos alpina), varileaf cinquefoil (Potentilla diversifolia), elephanthead lousewort (Pedicularis groenlandica), white mountain avens (Dryas octopetala), entire leaf mountain avens (D. integrifolia), alpine timothy (Phleum alpinum), alpine rush (Juncus alpinus), tussock cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum), polargrass (Arctagrostis latifolia), tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia caespitosa), bluejoint reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis), other sedges (Carex spp.), feathermosses (Hylocomium and Aulacomium spp.), lichens (Cladonia and Cladina spp.), and sphagnum mosses. SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : Facultative Seral Species Bigelow sedge colonizes disturbed sites through seed stored in the soil [15]. It may also persist throughout successional stages and can be present in climax tundra or meadow vegetation [38]. SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : Bigelow sedge flowers from July to September depending on location [12,27,32].

Related categories for Species: Carex bigelowii | Bigelow Sedge

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Information Courtesy: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Fire Effects Information System

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