Characteristic Plants Circumneutral Fen These plants are frequently found in this community type. Those with an asterisk are State Rank S2 Diagnostics often diagnostic of this community. Peatland vegetation is dominated by sedges Sapling/shrub Community Description or sedge/shrub mixtures including deer-hair Larch* sedge, slender sedge, and bog rosemary. This peatland vegetation type is dominated Northern white cedar* Circumneutral indicators are present, such as by sedges or grades into dwarf shrubs. Sweetgale* shrubby cinquefoil, livid sedge, marsh muhly, Dwarf shrub and graminoid cover each Dwarf Shrub grass-of-parnassus, and Kalm’s lobelia. range from 10-75% and are inversely Bog rosemary* proportional to each other. Sparse cedar Leatherleaf* or larch may dot the fen. Shrubs may Similar Types Shrubby cinquefoil* be patchy. Dominant sedges include Other peatland communities lack the Sweetgale* circumneutral indicators typical of this type. deer-hair sedge and slender sedge; white Herb Circumneutral Riverside Seeps have many Clayton’s Copper on Shrubby Cinquefoil beak-rush is locally common. Alpine Deer-hair sedge* similar species, but do not occur on peat cotton-grass, with its white wispy fruiting impacts on hydrology and consequently on Marsh muhly substrate. heads, is often obvious but not abundant. vegetation. Maintaining appropriate wetland Northern blue flag Shrubby cinquefoil and bog rosemary are buffers is important in minimizing the effects Northern bog aster characteristic. Northern bog aster and Conservation, Wildlife, and of adjacent land use. Degradation from Slender sedge* marsh muhly are good indicators, as are Management Considerations recreational use has not been an issue in most Tussock sedge* This rare community type has been subject to the calciphiles livid sedge, yellow sedge, places, but if disturbance, such as foot traffic, is Bryoid few threats to date. Some examples occur on sparse-flowered sedge, and northern bog a necessity, traversing during frozen conditions Campylium fen moss sedge. The bryoid layer is extensive, with public lands and private conservation lands. or using boardwalks can reduce impacts. Sphagnum warnstorfii* Campylium fen moss indicative. Impoundment or draining would have negative This community is inhabited by the rare Associated Rare Plants Soil and Site Characteristics Clayton’s copper butterfly, which uses shrubby Location Map Capillary sedge cinquefoil as its sole larval host plant and These peatlands are influenced by calcium Dioecious sedge primary adult nectar plant. This butterfly rich, circumneutral (rather than acidic) Livid sedge is found at only 14 sites worldwide, nine water. The substrate pH is 5.6 or higher, Low spike-moss in Maine and five in New Brunswick. All and remains saturated through the year. Prairie sedge known occurrences are in circumneutral These peatlands occur in minerotrophic Slender-leaved sundew fens with shrubby cinquefoil stands large basins where contact with groundwater Swamp birch provides some nutrients to the plants. Sites enough to support a persistent population are typically at lower elevations (<1000’) and of the butterfly. Thaxter’s pinion moth uses Shrubby Cinquefoil - Sedge Circumneutral Fen Associated Rare Animals usually in areas underlain by limestone or sweetgale and larch as larval host plants and Clayton’s copper other calcareous bedrock. may be found in this community as well.

Distribution Examples on Conservation Most typically in the limestone regions of Lands You Can Visit northern Maine, sporadically westward, • Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge eastward, and southward. (Laurentian Mixed – Oxford Co. Forest and New England - Adirondack • Mattagodus Wildlife Management Area Provinces.) Extends to northern New England – Penobscot Co. and New York; Canadian distribution not well • Salmon Brook Lake Bog Public Lands known. – Aroostook Co. • Woodland Bog Preserve – Aroostook Co. Landscape Pattern: Small Patch

Sphagnum in Cedar

Maine Natural Areas Program