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Environmental Conditions Promoting Non-native Phragmites australis Expansion in Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands

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Abstract

The invasion and expansion of the non-native Phragmites australis in Great Lakes coastal wetlands is of increasing concern, but quantitative studies of the extent, rate, and causes of invasion have been lacking. Here we revisited 307 plots in 14 wetlands along the Great Lakes coast in 2005 that had previously been sampled for vegetation in 2001–2003. During the 2–4 years between sample events, Phragmites occurred in 101 plots. Genetic analysis revealed that none of the Phragmites samples collected at the 14 wetlands belonged to the native genotype. Decreases in water depth and bare soil area were associated with the greatest increases in Phragmites cover. Phragmites invasion was greater on Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie than it was on Lake Ontario, and occurred predominantly on sandy substrates. Soil water concentrations of NO3-N, NH3-N, and soluble reactive P did not differ significantly between plots with and without Phragmites. Monitoring coastal wetlands where water level has dropped and controlling Phragmites at early stages of invasion are essential for maintaining healthy Great Lakes coastal wetlands of high species diversity and wildlife habitat. This becomes important as water levels in the Great Lakes have reached extreme lows and are expected to decline with future climate change.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the associate editor and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on an earlier draft. This research has been supported by a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Science to Achieve Results Estuarine and Great Lakes (EaGLe) program through funding to the Great Lakes Environmental Indicators Project, US EPA Agreement EPA/R-828675. Although the research described in this article has been funded wholly or in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it has not been subjected to the Agency’s required peer and policy review and therefore does not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency and no official endorsement should be inferred. We thank Dr. Donald Auger for help with the genetic analysis. We thank Heidi Walking, Lynn Vaccaro, Christin Frieswyk DeJong, Michael Aho, Kathy Bailey Boomer, Michael Bourdaghs, K. Cappillino, Randy Clark, Spencer Cronk, D. James, Angie Marsh, and Cindy Williams for field assistance.

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  1. Mirela G. Tulbure

    Present address: Geographic Information Science Center of Excellence, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, 57007, USA

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  1. Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, 57007, USA

    Mirela G. Tulbure & Carol A. Johnston

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  1. Mirela G. Tulbure
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Correspondence to Mirela G. Tulbure.

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Tulbure, M.G., Johnston, C.A. Environmental Conditions Promoting Non-native Phragmites australis Expansion in Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands. Wetlands 30, 577–587 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0054-6

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