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Wetlands

Aquatic Beds

Bed of floating pondweed, Harney County

Bed of floating pondweed, Harney County
(John A. Christy, Oregon Biodiversity Information Center)

Aquatic beds (lakes, ponds, and rivers; see also salt marshes, brackish marshes) are composed of mostly submerged vegetation, the upper portions of which may float at the surface. They occur in nearshore areas along the coast, in estuaries, and in rivers, ponds, lakes, and sloughs on most topographic surfaces throughout the state. Plants may be rooted, suspended in the water column, or free-floating. Aquatic beds may be perennially flooded, tidal, or only seasonally flooded. They include subtidal kelp forests, intertidal eelgrass beds, and often dense stands of native or exotic species that clog waterways and annoy swimmers and boaters. They provide critical food and cover for fish, amphibians, and invertebrates, and are usually directly linked to riverine and emergent wetlands by hydrology, chemistry, and food webs. A large variety of invertebrates and vertebrates use both aquatic beds and emergent wetlands during part of their life cycles. Since 1850, much aquatic bed habitat has been lost to river channelization, siltation, and filling for agriculture or urban development.

Aquatic Beds Map

Aquatic Beds

Habitat: Estuaries, rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds
Water regime: Subtidal, intertidal, or permanently to seasonally flooded
Water chemistry: Fresh


Ecoregion*: BM = Blue Mountains, BR = Northern Basin and Range, CB = Columbia Basin, CR = Coast Range, EC = East Cascades, KM = Klamath Mountains, WC = West Cascades, WV = Willamette Valley  
  Scientific & Common Name Global & State Rank Ecoregion*
wetland type image Azolla (filiculoides, mexicana) Aquatic Vegetation
Pacific Mosquito Fern, Mexican Mosquito Fern (Christy 2004: 68; NS)
G4S4 CR, WV
wetland type image Brasenia schreberi Western Aquatic Vegetation
Water-shield (Christy 2004: 72; NS)
G4S3 CR, KM
wetland type image Callitriche heterophylla Aquatic Vegetation [Provisional]
Different-leaved water-starwort (Christy 2004: 75)
G4S4 CR, KM, WC, WV
wetland type image Callitriche verna Aquatic Vegetation [Provisional]
Spring water-starwort (Crowe et al. 2004: 69)
G4S4 CR, EC, KM, WV
wetland type image Ceratophyllum demersum Western Aquatic Vegetation
Coontail (Christy 2004: 101; Crowe et al. 2004: 69; NS)
G5S5 CR, EC, KM, WV
wetland type image Elodea canadensis Aquatic Vegetation
Waterweed (Christy 2004: 116; Crowe et al. 2004: 70; NS)
G5S5 CR, EC, WC, WV
wetland type image Fontinalis (antipyretica, neomexicana) Nonvascular Aquatic Vegetation
Fountain moss (Christy 2004: 152; NS)
G5S5 CR, EC, WC, WV
wetland type image Lemna minor Aquatic Vegetation
Duckweed (Murray 2000: 22; Christy 2004: 127; NS)
G5S5 CB, CR, BM, BR, EC, KM, WC, WV
wetland type image Myriophyllum hippuroides Aquatic Vegetation [Provisional]
Western water-milfoil bed
G3S2 WV
wetland type image Myriophyllum sibiricum Aquatic Vegetation
Siberian water-milfoil (NS)
G4S3 WC
wetland type image Nuphar polysepala Aquatic Vegetation
Yellow pond-lily (Murray 2000: 23; Christy 2004: 132; Crowe et al. 2004: 62;Wells 2006: 156; Odion et al. 2013: 64; NS)
G5S5 BM, BR, CR, EC, KM, WC, WV
wetland type image Potamogeton diversifolius Aquatic Vegetation
Diverse-leaved pondweed (Crowe et al. 2004: 72; NS)
G4S3 EC
wetland type image Potamogeton gramineus Aquatic Vegetation [Provisional]
Variable pondweed (Crowe et al. 2004: 72)
G5S5 BM, BR, CB, CR, EC, KM, WV, EC
wetland type image Potamogeton natans Aquatic Vegetation
Floating-leaved pondweed (Murray 2000: 24; Christy 2004: 136; Crowe et al. 2004: 73; NS)
G5S5 CR, EC, KM, WC, WV
wetland type image Ranunculus aquatilis - Callitriche verna Aquatic Vegetation
Water crowfoot - vernal water starwort (Christy 2004: 137; Crowe et al. 2004: 60; NS)
G5S5 BM, BR, CB, CR, EC, KM, WC, WV
wetland type image Ranunculus aquatilis - Callitriche palustris Herbaceous Vegetation
Water crowfoot - vernal water starwort
G5S5 BM
wetland type image Ranunculus lobbii Aquatic Vegetation [Provisional]
Lobb's water-buttercup (Titus 1996-1998: 4)
G3S2 KM, WV
wetland type image Schoenoplectus subterminalis Aquatic Vegetation [Provisional]
Water clubrush (Kunze 1994: 24)
G4S3 CR
wetland type image Utricularia macrorhiza Aquatic Vegetation [Provisional]
Common bladderwort (Christy 2004: 150)
G5S3 CR, WC, WV
wetland type image Veronica americana Aquatic Vegetation [Provisional]
American brooklime (Crowe et al. 2004: 63)
G3S3 BM, EC, WV

Authored by John A. Christy, Wetlands Ecologist, (ORBIC) Oregon Biodiversity Information Center (2012 rev. 2017)

randomness