Blocking Phragmites australis reinvasion of restored marshes using plants selected from wild populations and tissue culture

Abstract

This study tested a vegetation strategy for controlling Phragmites australis invasion into brackish marshes as an alternative to the current technique of repeated herbicide sprays followed by burning. This strategy involves blocking P. australis by planting desired plants selected from wild populations and/or tissue culture regenerants at key points on the major routes of P. australis invasion. The planting of native species was conducted at three sites in a herbicide-treated P. australis marsh near Salem, NJ. Wild population selections of three upland marsh shrubs, Myrica cerifera, Baccharis halimifolia, and Iva frutescens, as well as two grass species, Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens, and two rushes, Juncus gerardi and Juncus roemerianus, were planted according to their normal zonation positions. Tissue culture regenerated plants of the two grasses and two rushes, and the sedge species Scirpus robustus, were also planted. Plant growth at each site was monitored each year after planting for up to 3 years. Most plants of B. halimifolia, I. frutescens, J. roemerianus, and S. patens demonstrated a consistent vigorous growth at all three sites, whether or not the plants were collected from wild populations or were tissue culture regenerants. These multi-layered walls of plants demonstrated effectiveness in controlling the P. australis by restricting or inhibiting its spread. Upon screening 48 regenerated plants of S. patens at one of the three sites, we found that some regenerants showed enhanced characteristics for blocking P. australis, such as greater expansion and a high stem density. The availability of the tissue culture-regenerated plants of the native marsh species makes it possible to select lines from local genotypes that have desirable characteristics for wetland restoration projects, such as blocking P. australis reinvasion.