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spike sedge
Carex nardina
NatureServe conservation status
Global (G-rank): G5
State (S-rank): S2S3
External links
Species range
Estimate from download of data from Utah Rare Plant Database on April 29, 2024.
Geocat observations: 12 Extent of Occurrence: 7,385.777 km2
Historic occurrences older than 40 years not used in ranking.
Alpine communities at 3050 to 3720 m in Beaver, Duchesne, Grand, Piute, Salt Lake, and Summit counties; circumboreal, south to Washington and Colorado; (Welsh et al. 2015).
Threats or limiting factors
The main threats to these occurrences come from habitat degradation due to grazing, fire, drought, and road maintenance.
Threats to this species are not well documented. Threats compiled using observations and notes from Utah Rare Plant Database and Utah Geospatial Resource Center GIS Data downloaded in 2024. Severity of impacts are not well known so ranges are provided where appropriate. There are 12 known occurrences of Carex nardina recorded in Utah within the last 40 years. All 12 of these occurrences are within livestock grazing allotments, and 10 are in known mountain goat habitat. Impacts from livestock and mountain goats on this habitat are unknown, but the occurrences could be impacted through grazing, trampling, and habitat degradation. 1 occurrence, recorded in the Ashley National forest in 1994, is in the boundaries of a 2020 wildfire. Impacts from the fire and fire management on this occurrence are unknown. 5 of the occurrences are within a half mile of Utah roads, 4 of which near are trails and pathways, and 1 that is a near a major Utah road. Occurrences near trails or roads could be impacted by their use, maintenance, and expansion. Drought and climate change is also a threat and likely impacting this species through out it's range (Wrobleski, 2023).
