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are all grass, and grass -like species. Mosses are often <br />present, but rarely are they Sphagnum spp. (Windell et al 1986). <br />Windell et al (1986) note that in the Rocky Mountains the <br />wettest habitats are often dominated by rhizomatous species of <br />Carex, particularly C. utriculata, which may form continuous <br />mats. Associated species were noted as Carex aquatilis <br />Deschampsia caespitosa, Geum macrophyllum, and Polemonium <br />occidentalis. <br />Cooper (1986) and Wilson (1969) have noted that the wettest <br />fens are dominated by Carex utriculata, intermediately -wet fens <br />are dominated by C. aquatilis, and those at the mesic (dryer) end <br />of the moisture gradient tend to be dominated by Calamagrostis <br />canadensis. Other species associated with the intermediately wet <br />fens were Carex utriculata, C. canescens, Calamagrostis <br />canadensis, Deschampsia caespitosa, Eleocharis pauciflora, and <br />Viola canadensis (Cooper 1986). The Eureka Gulch site is an <br />example of a fen dominated by Carex aquatilis that is being <br />excavated for the peat. <br />Some of the species associated with the mesic, Calamagrostis <br />dominated site included Carex aquatilis, C. utriculata, Caltha <br />leptosepala, Deschampsia caespitosa, Viola canadensis, Erigeron <br />peregrinus, Senecio sp., and Poa sp. (Cooper 1986). None of the <br />excavation sites visited were of this type. <br />Carrs, or shrub - dominated peatlands, have an overstory that <br />is almost exclusively dominated by species of Salix (willows) and <br />an understory composed of both tall - growing herbaceous species, <br />46 <br />