{"id":21918,"date":"2017-05-09T15:18:10","date_gmt":"2017-05-09T19:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/?p=9604"},"modified":"2024-05-21T15:54:10","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T19:54:10","slug":"uncovering-an-invaders-multiple-rolesphragmites-in-the-n-c-coastal-reserves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/uncovering-an-invaders-multiple-rolesphragmites-in-the-n-c-coastal-reserves\/","title":{"rendered":"Uncovering an Invader\u2019s Multiple Roles:<em>Phragmites<\/em> in the N.C. Coastal Reserves"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Image above: Seth Theuerkauf<\/em><em> assessed three marsh ecosystem services \u2014 carbon storage, shoreline stabilization and plant diversity \u2014 in areas with varying abundance of the invasive marsh grass <\/em>Phragmites australis<em>. Image by Elise Gilchrist\/N.C. Coastal Reserve<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>By Seth Theuerkauf<\/h3>\n<p>In summer 2014, Brandon Puckett and I grew curious about <em>Phragmites australis<\/em>, an invasive marsh grass that has become increasingly common throughout North Carolina\u2019s marshes. The invader displaces native marsh vegetation, such as big cordgrass, <em>Spartina cynosuroides<\/em>. In addition, efforts to eradicate <em>Phragmites <\/em>often require costly, broad-scale application of herbicides or fire over many years.<\/p>\n<p>Previous studies have documented that <em>Phragmites<\/em> can harm plant diversity and habitat for threatened and endangered bird species. But Puckett, then a postdoctoral researcher at NC State\u2019s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST), and I wondered how <em>Phragmites<\/em> might affect other ecosystem services that we value from our marshes \u2014 such as the ability to store carbon or stabilize eroding shorelines.<\/p>\n<p>We also wanted to know if the quantity or quality of these ecosystem services would vary depending on how prevalent <em>Phragmites <\/em>was within the marshes. Furthermore, how might the answers to these research questions affect <em>Phragmites <\/em>management efforts in North Carolina?<\/p>\n<p>Flash forward to 2015, when I received the North Carolina Sea Grant and N.C. Coastal Reserve <a href=\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/funding-opps\/fellowships\/ncsg_reserve_fellowship\/\" class=\"broken_link\">Coastal Research Fellowship<\/a>, providing a unique opportunity to seek out the answers to these questions. My fellowship research was conducted within Kitty Hawk Woods and Currituck Banks Reserves, two marsh ecosystems in the northeastern part of the state.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9619\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9619\" style=\"width: 601px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-9619\" src=\"http:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2017\/05\/shoreline_measurements.jpg\" alt=\"Two photos showing location of landward and shoreward markers\" width=\"601\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9619\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">To measure <i>Phragmites&#8217;<\/i> effect on shoreline stabilization, we installed pairs of markers and measured the position of the marsh edge relative to the benchmark measurements taken in 2015 and 2016. Photo by Seth Theuerkauf.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I was able to continue working with Puckett, by then the research coordinator for the N.C. Coastal Reserve, on the project. Our team also included scientists and partners from CMAST, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill\u2019s Institute of Marine Sciences and the reserve.<\/p>\n<p>Donning our snake chaps to deter possible cottonmouth bites, Puckett, Scott Crocker (then with the reserve), Kathrynlynn Theuerkauf (a graduate student at CMAST and my wife) and I first took to the marshes in Kitty Hawk Woods and Currituck Banks in April 2015.<\/p>\n<p>Scott helped us identify field sites with varying amounts of <em>Phragmites <\/em>\u2014 from areas with only native grasses, to those with a mix of grasses and to those with only <em>Phragmites<\/em>. We used those field sites to determine how increasing prevalence of <em>Phragmites <\/em>affected the ability of marshes to stabilize shorelines, store carbon and maintain plant diversity.<\/p>\n<p>We returned to the marshes later that summer to install shoreline-erosion markers \u2014 metal stakes installed waterward and landward of the marsh \u2014 that allowed us to take precise measurements of each marsh\u2019s shoreline edge. By comparing the measurements taken in 2015 and 2016, we were able to assess whether marsh was accreting (growing) or retreating (eroding). We also could see how that varied depending on the abundance of <em>Phragmites<\/em>. <em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9613\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9613\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-9613\" src=\"http:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2017\/05\/cores_combo_w.jpg\" alt=\"Two pictures: Man standing in marsh grass and tubes of sediment cores.\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9613\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">To measure carbon storage, we extracted sediment cores from marshes (left) and measured the amount of carbon stored within the sediments (right). Photos by Brandon Puckett\/N.C. Coastal Reserve.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We also collected samples of marsh sediment at our field sites to determine if increasing abundance of <em>Phragmites <\/em>affected the ability of marshes to trap and store carbon. Back in the lab, my brother Ethan Theuerkauf, then a doctoral candidate at IMS and now with the Illinois State Geological Survey, helped us process the samples to determine how much carbon was stored within the sediments.<\/p>\n<p>We also assessed plant diversity, an important indicator of ecosystem health. Our team revisited the research sites to determine the variety of plants that were present and how abundant they were. Despite the dense canopy of the marsh, we identified over 40 unique plant species within the understory vegetation of the marsh. I was amazed by the hidden diversity of plants we observed!<\/p>\n<p>In summer 2016, we wrapped up the final field sampling for the project, and I began digging into the data analysis with my advisor, David Eggleston of NC State. After analyzing all of the data, we found that the increasing abundance of <em>Phragmites <\/em>within the reserves did not appear to reduce the ability of marshes to stabilize shorelines, store carbon or maintain plant diversity.<\/p>\n<p>Our results were surprising given that earlier research had found that <em>Phragmites<\/em> had a negative effect on marsh ecosystem services. However, many of those previous studies examined wetlands that have had human interventions, such as shoreline development or construction of drainage canals. Our study, however, was conducted in undisturbed marsh habitat within a protected reserve system.<\/p>\n<p>Our findings highlight the importance of maintaining protected reserves. These areas may provide a strong defense against invasive species and could reduce the time and resources needed to eradicate these species. Furthermore, our study highlights the importance of determining whether invasive species actually harm the ecosystem services provided by our marshes when considering management options.<\/p>\n<p><em>Our research on the effects of <\/em>Phragmites australis <em>on marsh ecosystem services was recently published in <\/em>PLOS ONE<em> at <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0173007\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0173007<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Seth Theuerkauf is a doctoral candidate in biological oceanography at North Carolina State University\u2019s\u00a0Center for Marine Sciences and Technology. He was the 2015 coastal research fellow.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seth Theuerkauf, the 2015 coastal research fellow, explains how he assessed three marsh ecosystem services \u2014 carbon storage, shoreline stabilization and plant diversity \u2014 in areas with low, medium and high abundance of the invasive seagrass <em>Phragmites australis<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9608,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[761],"tags":[],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"class_list":["post-21918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-currents"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Uncovering an Invader\u2019s Multiple Roles:Phragmites in the N.C. Coastal Reserves - Coastwatch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/uncovering-an-invaders-multiple-rolesphragmites-in-the-n-c-coastal-reserves\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Uncovering an Invader\u2019s Multiple Roles:Phragmites in the N.C. 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