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<br />Wet meadow shrub subtype is a wetland community comprised of 50-70% cover by <br />tall shrubs where peat is <0.5m deep and gaps are not dominated by emergent <br />species >1 m tall. The leaves of typical grasses and sedges within this community are <br />>3mm wide (such as Canada blue joint (CaJamagrostis canadensis), lake sedge <br />(Carex lacustris), and tussock sedge (C. stricta)). <br /> <br />Willow Swamp (MLCCS Code 52430 / 10 Total Acres) <br />Three records of willow swamp were documented within Elk River. Willow swamp is a <br />minerotrophic wetland with a canopy of medium to tall (>1 m) shrubs dominated by <br />willows (especially pussy willow, slender willow, and Bebb's willow) and red-osier <br />dogwood. Other shrubs, such as speckled alder, bog birch, poison sumac, and alder <br />buckthorn, may be common in the tall shrub layer, although speckled alder is never <br />the most abundant species present. Herbaceous species (especially graminoids) <br />characteristic of wet meadow/fen communities are common in the more open <br />occurrences of the community. However, in willow swamps, unlike wet meadow/fen <br />communities, these graminoid-dominated patches are poorly separated from clumps of <br />shrubs. The most common herbs are tussock sedge (Carex stricta), prairie sedge <br />(Carex prairea), lake-bank sedge (Carex lacustris), broad-leaved cattail (Typha <br />latifolia), blue-joint (Calamagrostis canadensis), northern marsh fern (The/ypteris <br />palustris), and jewel-weed (Impatiens capensis). <br /> <br />Willow swamps dominated by bog birch are closely related to the shrub subtype of rich <br />fen but have more minerotrophic indicator species [such as speckled alder (A/nus <br />rugosa), holly (l/ex verticillata), jewel-weed (Impatiens capensis), and horehound <br />(Lycopus uniflorus)] than are present in Rich Fens. Following fire in conifer swamps or <br />in the shrub subtype of rich fens there may be initially a dense cover of willows <br />(usually balsam willow and bog willow), but these stands are best classified as <br />successional stages of conifer swamp or rich fen rather than as willow swamp. The <br />dense groves of sand-bar willow or juvenile black willow that occur on sand bars along <br />rivers are not considered shrub swamp communities but instead river beach <br />communities, as they occur on mineral rather than peat or muck substrates. <br /> <br />Willow swamp occurs on seasonally flooded soils with <30% tree cover and >50% <br />cover by tall shrubs (not dwarf-shrubs), where <50% of the shrubs are alders and gaps <br />are dominated by emergent species >1 m tall. <br /> <br />City of Elk River, MN - Natural Resouce Inventory <br />Boneslroo Natural Resources. September 2004 <br /> <br />28 <br />