{"id":5499,"date":"2015-09-01T15:55:12","date_gmt":"2015-09-01T19:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/?p=5499"},"modified":"2024-05-02T15:18:41","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T19:18:41","slug":"phragmites-always-a-foe-or-sometimes-a-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/09\/phragmites-always-a-foe-or-sometimes-a-friend\/","title":{"rendered":"Phragmites: Always a foe, or sometimes a friend?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Posted Sept. 1, 2015<\/em><\/p>\n Seth Theuerkauf<\/em> is a 2015 North Carolina Sea Grant\/<\/em>N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve Program<\/a> fellow. He is a doctoral candidate in biological oceanography at North Carolina State University\u2019s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a war being waged in the wetlands,\u201d begins a 2004 Coastwatch<\/em> article<\/a>. The enemy is an aggressive line of the common reed, Phragmites australis<\/em>, with European origins. It is practically identical to a native strain that has existed in North America\u2019s wetland plant communities for more than 3,000 years.<\/p>\n The major difference between the two is the nonnative plant\u2019s aggressive proliferation. Phragmites<\/em> can spread at rates of up to 15 feet per year, choking out native marsh plants. North Carolina, like many other states in the United States, has been witness to the rapid expansion of this marsh grass.<\/p>\n The Phragmites australis<\/em> marsh in Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve is one of my study sites. Photo by Seth Theuerkauf<\/p><\/div>\n Across its invasive range, numerous negative effects of Phragmites<\/em> on marsh ecosystems have been reported, including reductions in plant diversity and in habitat used by threatened and endangered birds. However, there is evidence that Phragmites<\/em> may help reduce shoreline erosion and bury carbon at rates faster than native marsh grasses.<\/p>\n Furthermore, Phragmites <\/em>management generally entails the eradication of existing stands within marshes using fire or herbicides, methods that often require control techniques to be employed for many years after. These efforts are costly, labor intensive and potentially dangerous.<\/p>\n Within the marshes of the state’s Reserve network, Phragmites<\/em> is present in varying amounts \u2014 from large stands over an acre in size to smaller patches that are growing alongside other native marsh plants, such as big cordgrass, Spartina cynosuroides<\/em>.<\/p>\n My research, funded by North Carolina Sea Grant and the N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve Program, focuses on understanding how Phragmites<\/em> affects the ability of marshes to provide valuable services, such as plant diversity, erosion control and carbon sequestration.<\/p>\n This applied research will provide the Reserve with specific data that can be used to identify the main areas for Phragmites<\/em> management.<\/p>\n I have been hard at work this field season in the marshes of the Currituck Banks<\/a> and Kitty Hawk Woods<\/a> reserves in the northeastern portion of our state where Phragmites<\/em> is prevalent. I have a diverse research team helping out.<\/p>\n The Reserve is represented by Brandon Puckett, research coordinator; Scott Crocker, northern sites manager; and Samantha Godwin, undergraduate intern.<\/p>\n They are joined by graduate student Katelyn Theuerkauf \u2014 also my wife \u2014 from North Carolina State University\u2019s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, and Athena Edwards, West Carteret High School student and Sea Wolf summer research aide.<\/p>\n