Phragmites | |
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Phragmites australis seed head in winter | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Poaceae |
Subfamily: | Arundinoideae |
Tribe: | Molinieae |
Subtribe: | Moliniinae |
Genus: | Phragmites Adans. |
Synonyms [1] | |
Phragmites ( /fræɡˈmaɪtiːz/ ) is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world.
The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in London, accepts the following four species: [2] [1]
Phragmites stands can provide food and shelter resources for a number of birds, insects, and other animals. Habitat benefits are often optimal when stands are thinner, and management of stands may promote more suitable habitat benefits. [3] Some evidence suggests that a short term management rotation of 1–2 years could maximize bird and invertebrate numbers. [4]
P. australis provides ecosystem services such as nutrient sequestration, soil stabilization, and waste treatment. [3] It has been suggested that due to its resilience to climate change impacts, P. australis may provide beneficial ecosystem services that need to be considered in coastal ecosystems, even where it is considered an invasive species. [5] Others have argued that the ecosystem services lost as a result of invasion outweigh the benefits gained and managers need to be responsive to invasion control. [6]
P. australis is cultivated as an ornamental plant in aquatic and marginal settings such as pond- and lakesides. Its aggressive colonisation means it must be sited with care. [7]
Phragmites australis is one of the main wetland plant species used for phytoremediation water treatment.
Waste water from lavatories and greywater from kitchens is routed to an underground septic tank-like compartment where the solid waste is allowed to settle out. The water then trickles through a constructed wetland or artificial reed bed, where bioremediation bacterial action on the surface of roots and leaf litter removes some of the nutrients in biotransformation. The water is then suitable for irrigation, groundwater recharge, or release to natural watercourses.
Reed is used in many areas for thatching roofs. In the British Isles, common reed used for this purpose is known as Norfolk reed or water reed. However, "wheat reed" and "Devon reed", also used for thatching, are not in fact reed, but long-stemmed wheat straw.[ citation needed ]
In Middle East countries Phragmites is used to create a small instrument similar to the clarinet called a sipsi, with either a single, as in the picture, or double pipes as in bagpipes. [8] The reed of the zurna is made from the common reed which is flattened after removing its brittle outer glaze and the loose inner membrane, and after softening it by wetting. [9] The result is a double reed with an elliptical opening that vibrates by closing and opening at a high speed. This is not to be confused with other double reeds like that of the oboe which uses two reeds made from the giant reed leaning against each other.
The leaves, roots, seeds and stems of phragmites are edible. [10] Young shoots can be cooked or eaten raw just like bamboo shoots. The young stems, "while still green and fleshy, can be dried and pounded into a fine powder, which when moistened is roasted like marshmallows." The seeds and rhizomes "can be ground into flour or made into gruel." [11] In Japan, young leaves are dried, ground, and then mixed with cereal flour to make dumplings. Grazing on phragmites by large-bodied domestic herbivores, such as cows, horses, sheep, and goats, can effectively control the plant and provide a reciprocal positive benefit for humans by generating meat, milk, leather, and wool etc. [12]
Some other uses for Phragmites australis and other reeds in various cultures include baskets, mats, reed pen tips (qalam), and paper. [13] Beekeepers can utilize the reeds to make nesting. [14]
In the Philippines, Phragmites is known by the local name tambo. Reed stands flower in December, and the blooms are harvested and bundled into whisk brooms called "walis". Hence the common name of household brooms is walis tambo. [15]
Reeds have been used to make arrows [16] and weapons such as spears for hunting game. [17]
Some Phragmites, when introduced by accident or intent, spread rapidly. In tropics and subtropics, Phragmites karka is an abundant invasive species. [18] In the United States, prior to 1910, only a few areas in the Northeast contained non-native haplotypes of Phragmites australis. [19] However, by 1960 non-native haplotypes were found in samples taken from coast to coast. Today, in some places like Michigan, Phragmites australis (haplotype M) has become the dominant haplotype. [20] [21] The problem is invasive non-native Phragmites australis quickly spread through marshes and wetland areas. They replace native plants, deny fish and wildlife nutrients and space; block access to the water for swimming, fishing and other recreation endeavors; spoil shoreline views; and pose a fire hazard. [22] Phragmites also alters wetland biogeochemistry and affects both floral and faunal species assemblages, [23] including potentially reducing nitrogen and phosphorus availability for other plants. [24]
Phragmites can drive out competing vegetation in two main ways. Their sheer height and density can deprive other plants of sunlight and the chemicals they produce when decaying reduce the germination of competing seeds. [25] Among other effects, the monocultures that result from invasion decrease spatial and temporal habitat heterogeneity and increase avian homogeneity. [26]
Recognizing the non-native form of Phragmites early in its invasion increases the opportunity for successful eradication dramatically. Once it has become established, removal by hand is nearly impossible. [22] The seeds or rhizomes can quickly lead to a new dense stand. Chemical treatment is by far the most utilized method in North America .[ citation needed ] The two most common active ingredients in herbicides for Phragmites control are glyphosate and imazapyr. [27] [28] It is important to select the proper herbicide for the location. Further, even the proper herbicide can lead to unintended consequences since a large amount of decaying dead plant material can depress oxygen levels in the water and kill all the fish in a pond or small lake. Some success has also been obtained using goats to graze on Phragmites, [29] controlled burns, and native wild rice crops. [30] Biological controls have been suggested to be the most likely control method to succeed and biocontrols have been approved for introduction in North America [31] Unfortunately, biocontrols may destroy the native subspecies population as well. [5] When cutting under water, cutting and then flooding, or burning and then flooding, it is important that the entire Phragmites stand is completely submerged so that the plants cannot obtain oxygen. [20]
Typha is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrush or reedmace, in American English as reed, cattail, or punks, in Australia as cumbungi or bulrush, in Canada as bulrush or cattail, and in New Zealand as reed, cattail, bulrush or raupo. Other taxa of plants may be known as bulrush, including some sedges in Scirpus and related genera.
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently for years or decades or seasonally for a shorter periods. Flooding results in oxygen-free anoxic processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from terrestrial land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique anoxic hydric soils. Wetlands are considered among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal species. Methods for assessing wetland functions, wetland ecological health, and general wetland condition have been developed for many regions of the world. These methods have contributed to wetland conservation partly by raising public awareness of the functions some wetlands provide. Constructed wetlands are designed and built to treat municipal and industrial wastewater as well as to divert stormwater runoff. Constructed wetlands may also play a role in water-sensitive urban design.
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that grows in or near water and is either emergent, submergent, or floating. In lakes and rivers macrophytes provide cover for fish, substrate for aquatic invertebrates, produce oxygen, and act as food for some fish and wildlife.
A marsh is — according to ecological definitions — a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species. More in general, the word can be used for any low-lying and seasonally waterlogged terrain. In Europe and in agricultural literature low-lying meadows that require draining and embanked polderlands are also referred to as marshes or marshland.
A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated by dense stands of salt-tolerant plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh in trapping and binding sediments. Salt marshes play a large role in the aquatic food web and the delivery of nutrients to coastal waters. They also support terrestrial animals and provide coastal protection.
Reed is a common name for several tall, grass-like plants of wetlands.
Freshwater ecosystems are a subset of Earth's aquatic ecosystems. They include lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, springs, bogs, and wetlands. They can be contrasted with marine ecosystems, which have a larger salt content. Freshwater habitats can be classified by different factors, including temperature, light penetration, nutrients, and vegetation. There are three basic types of freshwater ecosystems: Lentic, lotic and wetlands. Freshwater ecosystems contain 41% of the world's known fish species.
A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As reedbeds age, they build up a considerable litter layer that eventually rises above the water level and that ultimately provides opportunities in the form of new areas for larger terrestrial plants such as shrubs and trees to colonise.
An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem found in and around a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms—aquatic life—that are dependent on each other and on their environment. The two main types of aquatic ecosystems are marine ecosystems and freshwater ecosystems. Freshwater ecosystems may be lentic ; lotic ; and wetlands.
Arundo donax is a tall perennial cane. It is one of several so-called reed species. It has several common names including giant cane, elephant grass, carrizo, arundo, Spanish cane, Colorado river reed, wild cane, and giant reed. Arundo and donax are respectively the old Latin and Greek names for reed.
The Titarisios is a river in Thessaly, Greece. It is a major tributary of the Pineios. The river begins at the western slopes of Mount Olympus and flows southwest, then south. It leaves the mountains near the village Sykia, and turns east near the village Vlachogianni. It passes along the town Tyrnavos and flows into the Pineios near the village Rodia. The confluence is at 65 m above sea level. Its total length is 70 km, and for most of its length it contains water throughout the year.
The Sakalava rail is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It is endemic to western Madagascar. This bird is small with brown upperpart feathers, grey underparts, a yellow bill and red legs.
Phragmites australis, known as the common reed, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. It is a wetland grass that can grow up to 20 feet tall and has a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide.
Judith Shulman Weis is an American marine biologist. Her research and writing focuses on estuarine ecology and ecotoxicology, including the responses of salt marsh and brackish marsh organisms, populations and communities to stresses, particularly heavy metal contaminants, invasive species and parasites. She is also working to reduce the spread of microplastics in the environment and find solutions to protecting coastal marshes from sea level rise.
A freshwater marsh is a non-forested marsh wetland that contains shallow fresh water, and is continuously or frequently flooded. Freshwater marshes primarily consist of sedges, grasses, and emergent plants. Freshwater marshes are usually found near the mouths of rivers, along lakes, or are present in low lying areas with low drainage like abandoned oxbow lakes. Unlike its counterpart the salt marsh, which is regularly flushed with sea water, freshwater marshes receive the majority of their water from surface water.
Low marsh is a tidal marsh zone located below the Mean Highwater Mark (MHM). Based on elevation, frequency of submersion, soil characteristics, vegetation, microbial community, and other metrics, salt marshes can be divided to into three distinct areas: low marsh, middle marsh/high marsh, and the upland zone. Low marsh is characterized as being flooded daily with each high tide, while remaining exposed during low tides.
Cape Lowland Freshwater Wetland is a critically endangered vegetation type of the Western Cape, South Africa.
An inland salt marsh is a saltwater marsh located away from the coast. It is formed and maintained in areas when evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation and/or when sodium- and chloride-laden groundwater is released from natural brine aquifers. Its vegetation is dominated by halophytic plant communities.
Karin M. Kettenring is an American plant ecologist based in Logan, Utah. Her research focuses primarily on aspects of wetland plant ecology, including invasive plant ecology and management, native wetland seeds and seedlings, and wetland restoration. Kettenring worked in several labs and research stations across the United States before obtaining a faculty position at Utah State University as a professor of wetland ecology. Her most cited publication, “Lessons learned from invasive plant control experiments: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” looks at the literature discussing invasives species control experiments and how to ensure that research practices are most effective.
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