Twigrush Wet Prairie

This community is unique to the Great Lakes. In Ohio, it is only known from the Oak Openings Region. It once covered miles of lowlands before the construction of ditches. Today, there are small remnants such as Irwin Prairie State Nature Preserve. The wet prairie is seasonally flooded with water levels reaching 2+ feet from late fall to late spring. Because of the high water levels, woody species have difficulty invading the prairie. This community is at risk due to hydrologic changes and nutrient runoff which increase the likelihood of invasive species becoming established. Grasses and sedges are the dominant vegetation. Twigrush Cladium mariscoides and wiregrass Carex lasiocarpa are the two dominant species with Sartwell’s sedge Carex sartwellii, tussock sedge Carex stricta, yellow-seeded spike-rush Eleocharis elliptica, Canada bluejoint Calamagrostis canadensis and brown bog sedge Carex buxbaumii are common in this type of prairie.