Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A comparison of Phragmites australisin freshwater and brackish marsh environments in North America

  • Published:
Wetlands Ecology and Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper compares the available North Americanliterature and data concerning several ecologicalfactors affecting Phragmites australisin inlandfreshwater, tidal fresh, and tidal brackish marshsystems. We compare aboveground productivity, plantspecies diversity, and sediment biogeochemistry; andwe summarize Phragmiteseffects on faunalpopulations in these habitats. These data suggest thatPhragmitesaboveground biomass is higher thanthat of other plant species occurring in the samemarsh system. Available data do not indicate anysignificant difference in the aboveground Phragmitesbiomass between marsh types, nor doesthere appear to be an effect of salinity on height.However, Phragmitesstem density wassignificantly lower in inland non-tidal freshwatermarshes than in tidal marshes, whether fresh orbrackish. Studies of the effects of Phragmiteson plant species richness suggest that Phragmitesdominated sites have lower diversity.Furthermore, Phragmiteseradication infreshwater sites increased plant diversity in allcases. Phragmitesdominated communities appearto have different patterns of nitrogen cyclingcompared to adjacent plant communities. Abovegroundstanding stocks of nitrogen (N) were found to behigher in Phragmitessites compared to thosewithout Phragmites. Porewater ammonium(NH4 +) did not differ among plant covertypes in the freshwater tidal wetlands, but inbrackish marshes NH4 +was much higher inSpartinaspp. than in neighboring Phragmitesstands. Faunal uses of Phragmitesdominated sites in North America were found to vary bytaxa and in some cases equaled or exceeded use ofother robust emergent plant communities. In light ofthese findings, we make recommendations for futureresearch.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Able, K.W. in press. Measures of juvenile fish habitat quality from a National Estuarine Research Reserve. American Fisheries Society Symposium 22 (Bethesda, MD).

  • Ahearn-Meyerson, L. and Vogt, K.A. 1997. Considerations for restoring structure, function, and diversity to an ecosystem colonized by invasive plants: A Phragmites case study. In: MacDonald, K. and Weinman, F. (eds.), Wetland and Riparian Restoration: Taking a Broader View. Contributed papers and selected abstracts. pp. 257–258. Society for Ecological Restoration International conference, Seattle Washington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ailstock, M.S., Suman, T.W. and Williams, D.H. 1990. Environmental impacts, treatment methodologies and management criteria for establishment of a statewide policy for the control of the marsh plant Phragmites: Year 2. Environmental Center, Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold, MD. Unpub. report. 54 pp.

  • Amsberry, L. 1997. Mechanisms of invasion of Phragmites australis into salt marshes: the importance of clonal integration. Unpub. B.S. Thesis, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. 33 pp.

  • Anderson, B.W., Ohmart, R.D., Meents, J.K. and Hunter, W.C. 1984. Avian use of marshes on the Lower Colorado River. In: Warner, R.E. and Hendrix, K.M. (eds.), California Riparian Systems; Ecology, Conservation, and Productive Management. pp. 598–604. University of California Press, Berkeley, California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, J. and Armstrong, W. 1988. Phragmites australis - A preliminary study of soil-oxidizing sites and internal gas transport pathways. New Phytologist 108: 373–382.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, L.J. 1938. The Blue-Winged Teal; Its Ecology and Management. Collegiate Press, Ames, Iowa. 144 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benoit, L.K. and Askins, R.A. 1999. Impact of the Spread of Phragmites on the distribution of birds in Connecticut Tidal Marshes. Wetlands 19: 194–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berthold, P., Kaiser, A., Querner, U. and Schlenker, R. 1993. Analysis of trapping figures at Mettnau Station S. Germany with respect to the population development of small birds. A 20 years summary. 34th Report of the MRI-program. Journal of Ornithology 134: 283–299.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bertness, M.D. 1991. Zonation of Spartina patens and Spartina alterniflora in a New England salt marsh. Ecology 72: 138–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bongiorno, S.F., Trautman, J.R., Steinke, T.J., Kawa-Raymond, S. and Warner, D. 1984. A study of restoration in Pine Creek salt marsh, Fairfield, Connecticut. Proceedings of the 11th Annual Conference on Wetlands Restoration and Creation, Hillsborough Community College Institute of Florida Studies. pp. 10–19.

  • Boone, J., Furbish, E. and Turner, K. 1987. Control of Phragmites communis: results of burning, cutting and covering with plastic in a North Carolina salt marsh. Technical Report No. 41, Athens, National Park Service, Cooperative Park Studies Unit.

  • Bowden, W.B. 1987. The biogeochemistry of nitrogen in freshwater wetlands. Biogeochemistry 4: 313–348.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brawley, A.H. 1995 Birds of Connecticut's tidal wetlands: Relating patterns of use to environmental conditions. Unpub. M.A. thesis, Connecticut College, New London. 87 pp.

  • Buchsbaum, R. 1997. Return of the native or what? Sanctuary 36(3): 12–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buck, E.L. 1995 Selected environmental factors and the spread of Phragmites australis. Unpub. Honors Thesis. New London, Connecticut College. 67 pp.

  • Buckley, E.H. and Ristich, S.S. 1977. Rooted vegetation of the estuary. In:Weinstein, L.H. (ed.), An Atlas of the Biologic Resources of the Hudson Estuary. pp. 10–33. Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Yonkers, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burger, J. 1985. Habitat selection in temperate marsh-nesting birds. In: Cody, M.L. (ed.), Habitat Selection in Birds. pp. 253–281. Academic Press, Orlando, Florida.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buttery, B.R. and Lambert, J.M. 1965. Competition between Glyceria maxima and Phragmites communis in the region of Surlingham Broad. Journal of Ecology 53: 163–181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cadman, M.D., Eagles, P.F.J. and Helleiner, F.M. 1987. Atlas of breeding birds of Ontario. University of Waterloo Press, Ontario, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, R.M. 1997. Porewater chemistry associated with Phragmites and Spartina in a Connecticut tidal marsh. Wetlands 17: 360–367.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, R.M., Meyerson, L.A. and Saltonstall, K. 1999. Expansion of Phragmites australis into tidal wetlands of North America. Aquatic Botany 64: 261–273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, R.M., T.J. Mozdzer and J.C. Ambrose. 1999. Effects of salinity and sulfide on the distribution of Phragmites australis and Spartina alterniflora in a tidal saltmarsh. Aquatic Botany 62: 161–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, J.S. 1986. Late-Holocene vegetation and coastal processes at a Long Island Sound tidal marsh. Journal of Ecology 74: 561–578.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarkson, R.W. and deVos, J.C. 1986. The bullfrog, Rana catesbiana Shaw, in the lower Colorado River, Arizona-California. Journal of Herpetology 20: 42–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cross, D.H. and Fleming, K.L. 1989. Control of Phragmites or common reed. Fish and Wildlife Leaflet 13.4.12. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. 5 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dacey, J.W.H. and Howes, B.L. 1984. Water uptake by roots controls water table movement and sediment oxidation in short Spartina marsh. Science 224: 487–489.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daiber, F.C. 1982. Animals of the Tidal Marsh. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York. 442 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, A.N. and Briggs, T.L. 1986. Dispersion patterns of aerial shoots of the common marsh reed Phragmites australis (Poaceae). Rhodora 88: 325–330.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eggers, S.D. and Reed, T.L. 1987. Wetland plants and plant communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District.

  • Farnsworth, E. and Meyerson, L. submitted. Species composition and inter-annual dynamics of a freshwater tidal plant community following removal of the invasive grass, Phragmites australis: a four-year study. Biological Invasions.

  • Fell, P.E., Weissbach, S.P., Zuckerman, B. and Fell, S.P. 1996. Macroinvertebrates in Phragmites-dominated and Phragmites-free marsh regions at Chapman Pond and utilization by fish of tidal creeks situated along the salinity gradient of the lower Connecticut River system. Unpub. Report, Connecticut College, New London. 17 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fell, P.E., Weissbach, S.P., Jones, D.A., Fallon, M.A., Zeppieri, J.A., Faison, E.K., Lennon, K.A., Newberry, K.J. and Reddington, L.K. 1998. Does invasion of oligohaline tidal marshes by reed grass, Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. affect the availability of prey resources for the mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus? Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 222: 59–77. Fertik, R.A. 1995 Distribution of dominant angiosperms on the tidelands of the lower Connecticut River estuary in relation to salinity and hydroperiod. Unpub. report, New London, Connecticut College. 17 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitter, A. 1997. Nutrient Acquisition. In: Crawley, M.J. (ed.), Plant Ecology, 2nd edition. pp. 51–72, Blackwell Science, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galinato, M.I. and van der Valk, A.G. 1986. Seed germination traits of annuals and emergents recruited during drawdowns in the Delta Marsh, Manitoba, Canad. Aquatic Botany 26: 89–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gorham, E. and Pearsall, W.H. 1956. Production Ecology III. Shoot production in Phragmites in relation to habitat. Oikos 7: 206–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosselink, J.G. and Turner, R.E. 1978. The role of hydrology in freshwater wetland ecosystems. In: Good, R.E., Whigham, D.F. and Simpson, R.L. (eds.), Freshwater Wetlands: Ecological Processes and Management Potential. pp. 63–78. Academic Press, Inc., San Diego, California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, S.W. and Marshall, W.H. 1960. Experimental germination of seed and establishment of seedlings of Phragmites communis. Ecology 4: 395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, E.Z. and Bloom, A.L. 1977. Sedimentation rates on tidal salt marshes in Connecticut. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 47: 1484–1490.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haslam, S.M. 1970. The performance of Phragmites communis Trin. in relation to water supply. Annals of Botany (Lond.) 34: 867–877.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haslam, S.M. 1972. Biological Flora of the British Isles: Phragmites communis Trin. Journal of Ecology 60: 585–610.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hellings, S.E. and Gallagher, J.L. 1992. The effects of salinity and flooding on Phragmites australis. Journal of Applied Ecology 59: 41–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hopkinson, C.S. and Gosselink, J.G. 1978. Aboveground production of seven marsh plant species in coastal Louisiana. Ecology 59: 760–769.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard, R., Rhodes, D.G. and Simmers, J.W. 1978. A review of the biology and potential control techniques for Phragmites australis. Unpub. report prepared for the Dredged Material Research Program. Environmental Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi. 80 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, K. 1994. American robins nesting in Phragmites. Bird Observer 22: 153–155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiviat, E. 1987. Common reed (Phragmites australis). In: Decker, D. and Enck, J. (eds.), Exotic Plants with Identified Detrimental Impacts on Wildlife Habitats in New York. pp. 22–30. New York Chapter, The Wildlife Society, Annandale, New York.

  • Kiviat, E. 1994. Reed, sometimes a weed. News from Hudsonia 10:4–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krause, L.H., Rietsma, C. and Kiviat, E. 1997. Terrestrial insects associated with Phragmites australis, Typha angustifolia, and Lythrum salicaria in a Hudson River tidal marsh. In: Nieder, W.C. and Waldman, J.R. (eds.), Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program 1996. pp. V-1–V-35, Hudson River Foundation and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation - Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve.

  • Kunstler, D.S. No date. Butterflies of Bayswater Point State Park & Dubos Point Park, Rockaway Peninsula, Queens County, New York. Unpub. report to the New York City Audubon Society. 13 pp.

  • Lanning, F.S. and Eleuterius, L.N. 1985. Silica and ash in tissues of some plants growing in the coastal area of Mississippi USA. Annals of Botany (Lond.) 56: 157–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linthurst, R.A. and Reimold, R.J. 1978. Estimated net aerial primary productivity for selected estuarine angiosperms in Maine, Delaware and Georgia. Ecology 59: 945–955.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, J.J., O'Neil, T. and Lay, D.W. 1947. Management significance of damage by geese and muskrats to Gulf Coast marshes. Journal of Wildlife Management 11: 5–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marks, M., Lapin, B. and Randall, J. 1994. Phragmites australis (P. communis): Threats, management, and monitoring. Natural Areas Journal 14: 285–294.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCormac, J.S. 1994. Lake Erie Protection Fund, Final Report. Project # LEPF-93-04.

  • Meanley, B. 1993. The Patuxent River wild rice marsh. Privately published. 69 pp.

  • Metzler, K. and Rozsa, R. 1987. Additional notes on the tidelands of the Connecticut River. Newsletter of the Connecticut Botanical Society 15: 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyerson, L.A. 1997. Competition between Phragmites australis and Typha latifolia in a freshwater marsh ecosystem. Unpub. report to The Nature Conservancy, Connecticut Chapter. Middletown, CT, 33 pp.

  • Meyerson, L.A. 2000. The impact of Phragmites australis on nutrient pools in two Connecticut River freshwater marshes. Final report to the office of long island island sound programs. Connecticut Dep.

  • Meyerson, L.A., Vogt, K.A. and Chambers, R.M. in press. Linking the success of Phragmites australis to the decoupling of ecosystem nutrient cycles. In:Weinstein, M.P. and Kreeger, D.A. (eds.), Concepts and Controversies in Tidal Marsh Ecology, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

  • Mitsch, W.J. and Gosselink, J.G. 1993. Wetland. 2nd ed. Van Nostrand Rheinhold, New York. 722 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niering, W.A., Warren, R.S. and Weymouth, C.G. 1977. Our dynamic tidal marshes: Vegetation changes as revealed by peat analysis. Connecticut Arboretum Bulletin 12: 22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nijburg, J.W. and H.J. Laanbroek. 1997. The fate of 15N-nitrate in healthy and declining Phragmites australis stands. Microbial Ecology 34: 254–262.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odum, W.E. 1988. Comparative ecology of tidal freshwater and salt marshes. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 19: 147–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Opler, P.A. and Krizek, G.O. 1984. Butterflies east of the Great Plains. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 295 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orson, R.A., Warren, R.S and Niering, W.A. 1987. Development of a tidal marsh in a New England river valley. Estuaries 10: 20–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Otto, S.P.M. Groffman, S.E.G. Findlay and Arreloa, A.E. 1999. Invasive plant species and microbial processes in a tidal freshwater marsh. Journal of Environmental Quality 28: 1252–1257.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, J.D. 1987. Shoreline processes and establishment of Phragmites australis in a coastal plain estuary. Vegetatio 71: 139–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rilling, G.C., Fell, P.E. and Warren, R.S. 1999. Fish use of brackish tidal wetlands on the lower Connecticut River: a comparison of a Phragmites australis-dominated vs. a restored high marsh. Final Report to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, CT.

  • Roman, C.T. and Daiber, F.C. 1984. Aboveground and belowground primary production dynamics of two Delaware Bay tidal marshes. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 3: 31–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roman, C.T., Niering, W.A. and Warren, R.S. 1984. Salt marsh vegetation changes in response to tidal restrictions. Environmental Management 8: 141–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, K.J. and Pence, D.M. (eds.). 1992. Migratory nongame birds of management concern in the Northeast. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Newton Corner, Massachusetts. 403 pp.

  • Scott, J.A., Shields, O. and Ellis, S.L. 1977. Distribution and biology of plaistocene relict: Ochlodes Yuma (Hesperiidae) Journal of the Lepidoptera Society 31: 17–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seitzinger, S.P., Gardner, W.S. and Spratt, A.K. 1991. The effect of salinity on aquatic sediments: implications for benthic nutrient recycling. Estuaries 14: 167–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinicrope, T.L., Hine, P.G., Warren, R.S. and Niering, W.A. 1990. Restoration of an impounded salt marsh in New England. Estuaries 13: 25–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sipple, W.S. 1971. The past and present flora and vegetation of the Hackensack Meadows. Bartonia 41: 4–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sorrel, B.K., H. Brix, H. Schierup, and B. Lorenzen. 1997. Die-back of Phragmites australis: influence on the distribution and rate of sediment methanogenesis. Biogeochemistry 36: 173–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stalter, R. and Baden, J. 1994. A twenty-year comparison of vegetation of three abandoned rice fields, Georgetown County, South Carolina. Castanea 59: 69–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Templer, P., Findlay, S. and Wigand, C. 1998. Sediment chemistry associated with native and non-native emergent macrophytes of a Hudson River marsh ecosystem. Wetlands 18: 70–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, D.J. and Shay, J.M. 1985. The effects of fire on Phragmites australis in the Delta Marsh, Manitoba. Canadian Journal of Botany 63: 1864–1869.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tscharntke, T. 1992. Fragmentation of Phragmites habitats, minimum viable population size, habitat suitability, and local extinction of moths, midges, flies, aphids, and birds. Conservation Biology 6: 530–535.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tucker, G.C. 1990. The genera of Arundinoideae (Gramineae) in the southeastern United States. J. Arnold Arbor. 71: 145–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Twedt, D.J. and Crawford, R.D. 1995 Yellow-headed blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus). Birds of North America (192): 1–28.

  • Tyrawski, J.M. 1977. A study of the common reedgrass (Phragmites communis Trin.) in the coastal zone of Delaware. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Marine Studies, University of Delaware, 164 pp.

  • Ward, E. 1942. Phragmites management. Transactions of the North American Wildlife Conference 7: 294–298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitman, W.R. and Meredith, W.H. 1987. Introduction. In: Proceedings of a Symposium on Waterfowl and Wetlands management in the Coastal Zone of the Atlantic Flyway. Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Delaware Coastal Management Program. pp. 5–10.

  • Wijte, H.B.M. and Gallagher, J.L. 1996. Effect of oxygen availability and salinity on early life history stages of salt marsh plants. I. Different germination strategies of Spartina alterniflora and Phragmites australis (Poaceae). American Journal of Botany 83: 1337–1342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Windham, L. 1995 Effects of Phragmites australis invasion on aboveground biomass and soil properties in brackish tidal marsh of the Mullica River, New Jersey. Unpub. M.S. thesis. Rutgers, New Brunswick, NJ. 61 pp.

  • Windham, L. and Ehrenfeld, J.G. 1997. Effects of Phragmites australis invasion on dissolved nitrogen retention in brackish tidal marsh of the eastern U.S. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 78(4 supp): 208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Windham, L. and Ehrenfeld, J.G. 1998. Effects of Phragmites australis invasions on nitrogen cycling in brackish tidal marsh of the eastern U.S. In: Bulletin of the Conference on Concepts and Controversies in Tidal Marsh Ecology, Vineland, New Jersey. pp. 46.

  • Winogrond, H. and Kiviat, E. 1997. Invasions of Phragmites australis in the tidal marshes of the Hudson River. In: Nieder, W.C. and Waldman, J.R. (eds.), Final Reports of the Tibor T. Polgar Fellowship Program 1996. pp. VI-1–VI-29, Hudson River Foundation and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation - Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve.

  • Yasukawa, K. and Searcy, W.A. 1995 Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). Birds of North America (184): 1–28.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 301 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT, 06511, U.S.A.

    L.A. Meyerson

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 165 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT, 06520-8106, U.S.A.

    K. Saltonstall

  3. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08903, U.S.A

    L. Windham

  4. Hudsonia, Ltd., Bard College, P.O. Box 5000, Annandale, NY, 12504-5000, U.S.A

    E. Kiviat

  5. Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, Millbrook, NY, 12545-0129, U.S.A

    S. Findlay

Authors
  1. L.A. Meyerson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. K. Saltonstall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. L. Windham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. E. Kiviat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. S. Findlay
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Meyerson, L., Saltonstall, K., Windham, L. et al. A comparison of Phragmites australisin freshwater and brackish marsh environments in North America. Wetlands Ecology and Management 8, 89–103 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008432200133

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008432200133

Search

Navigation