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Wet Prairie Wet prairies are prairie- species dominated grassland communities growing on saturated and temporarily flooded soils with <30% tree cover and <50% shrub cover ( <30% in northwestern Minnesota). Wet prairie occurs mainly in the southern and western parts of Minnesota's prairie ecoregion, with scattered occurrences in the deciduous forest - woodland ecoregion. Typically, grasses dominate wet prairies, but sedges are also important in the community. The major cover - forming grasses in wet prairies in eastern Minnesota are prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata) and blue joint (Calamagrostis canadensis). Prairie cordgrass and blue joint are also present in Wet Prairies in western Minnesota, but the major cover - forming grasses in the west are bog reed - grass (Calamagrostis inexpansa), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), and the low grass, mat muhly (Muhlenbergia richardsonis). Other common grasses in the community are switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), wheatgrass (Agropyron trachycaulum), fowl meadow grass (Poa palustris), and sweet grass (Hierochloe odorata). The introduced grass redtop (Agrostis stolonifera) is often present on disturbed sites. Common Wet Prairie sedges are Carex lanuginosa, C. sartwellii, C. tetanica, and, in the west, C. praegracilis. Stiff rush (Juncus balticus) is frequently present. Forbs are abundant in Wet Prairies, but on the whole fewer forb species occur in Wet Prairie than in Mesic Prairie. Common widespread Wet Prairie forb species are panicled aster (Aster lanceolatus), New England aster (A. novae - angliae), meadow ragwort (Senecio pseudaureus), giant goldenrod (Solidago gigantea), Riddell's goldenrod (S. riddellii), giant sunflower (Helianthus giganteus), sawtooth sunflower (H. grosseserratus), sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale), gay - feather (Liatris pycnostachya), blazing -star (L. ligulistylis), grass- leaved goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia), Indian hemp (Apocynum sibiricum), golden alexanders (Zizia aurea), closed gentian (Gentiana andrewsii), yellow star -grass (Hypoxis hirsuta), marsh vetchling (Lathyrus palustris), tall meadow rue (Thalictrum dasycarpum), prairie loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrora), Virginia mountain -mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum), swamp lousewort (Pedicularis lanceolata), and northern bog violet (Viola nephrophylla). Small willows (pussy willow and other willow species) and meadowsweet are common in the community; willow and aspen trees are also sometimes present, growing either singly or scattered in small clumps along wetland margins. Wet Prairie is a fire- dependent community, with shrub and tree cover increasing in the community in the absence of fire (though regular haying will also prevent increased shrub and tree cover in the community.) Wet Prairie occurs in low areas (such as depressions and drainageways) where the water table remains within the plant- rooting zone for several weeks during the growing season, but where inundation occurs only infrequently and briefly. In some Wet Prairies groundwater seepage causes soils to be very moist or wet. Wet Prairie is especially common on broad, poorly drained flats in the Glacial Lake Agassiz Interbeach Area, where there are many areas of artesian seepage. In the deciduous forest - woodland zone, Wet Prairie exists on broad, nearly level river terraces or in shallow depressions on outwash. The soils within the community are mainly mollisols (aquolls). They range in texture from silty clays to fine sands and are somewhat poorly drained to very poorly drained. Impermeable subsurface layers impede soil drainage on some sites, and a thin layer of muck may be present at Foxborough Conservation Development Restoration and Management Plan 23