[PCA] Native Phragmites Data

Wed Aug 29 08:32:23 CDT 2012

One point that might be mentioned in regard to the Natives is that most
native species, even when aggressive, usually have some beneficial points
for the ecology of the area.  Poison ivy for instance while not a delight to
most people is a good food source for many birds.

Also I have seen research in recent years that indicated that the increased
Carbon Dioxide levels have encouraged Poison Ivy (and likely some other
plants) to grow more aggressively. (interesting, huh!)   Years ago I rarely
saw it growing in any fashion that I'd have considered aggressive or
invasively but the last few years I have seen areas where I felt
uncomfortably that it was taking over.

Michele

Michele Fletcher, VSLD, VCH

FB logo 275349049192398_1311670354Share the Knowledge: LIKE Michele Fletcher
Landscape Designs

<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michele-Fletcher-Landscape-Designs/230948441
558>
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michele-Fletcher-Landscape-Designs/2309484415
58  

For more helpful Design information. Visit and LIKE Virginia Society of
Landscape Designers   on Facebook 

<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Virginia-Society-of-Landscape-Designers/2518
05784884503>
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Virginia-Society-of-Landscape-Designers/25180
5784884503

pmp_logo

From: native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org
[mailto:native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] On Behalf Of
Robert Layton Beyfuss
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 9:28 AM
To: Katy Cummings; native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org
Subject: Re: [PCA] Native Phragmites Data

Hi All

I am a bit confused and hope you can enlighten me. I thought that the basic
definition of an invasive plant was that it had to be exotic.  There are
many native plants that create almost solid monocultures such as common
goldenrod yet can it be "undesirable" at any density? . Poison ivy can
overrun entire areas but I have never seen it listed as invasive. 

Bob   

From: native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org
[mailto:native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] On Behalf Of Katy
Cummings
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 9:28 PM
To: native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org
Subject: [PCA] Native Phragmites Data

Fellow Conservationists-

I work for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Door County, WI.  My main project
this summer has been mapping exotic and native stands of Phragmites
(Phragmites australis and Phragmites australis americanus) throughout TNC
properties in Door County.  I have some questions and experiences to share
with you as our organization tries to learn more about the native/exotic
Phragmites issue.  

We all know what havoc the exotic Phragmites subspecies can wreak on an
ecosystem, but do we know anything about the native subspecies?   Is there
any research out there showing that the native Phragmites can behave as
aggressively as the exotic?  In Door County, the native usually grows in
scattered to moderate densities along with other wetland plants, with a few
patches showing denser concentrations.  There are a few areas where the
native has reached undesirable "dense" concentrations, but as of yet we
don't know why.

What other plants are associated with the native Phragmites?  TNC will be
setting up monitoring plots soon on some of our native patches, and when we
get that data I'll send it to any interested people from this list.  The
only list I've been able to find is from a chapter by Laura Meyerson et al.
in "Invasions in North American Salt Marshes" entitled "Phragmites australis
in Eastern North America: A Historical and Ecological Perspective".  Does
anyone know of other lists from different regions of the U.S.?

Are there any patterns to where native Phragmites is found?  During my
mapping of the plant in Door County, I've generally found native Phragmites
set back from the edge of waterways and growing in more marshy areas.

What have you all seen as far as size of patches, number of patches,
location, rate of spread, etc. of the native Phragmites in your area?  Most
of the wetlands in Door County are fed by alkaline ground water discharge as
a result of movement through the underlying dolomitic bedrock.  I assume
that because of these alkaline conditions we have a higher population of
native Phragmites than perhaps other regions of the Midwest.  Is this true?

To help answer these questions, The Nature Conservancy's Door Peninsula
office has temporarily halted eradication measures of native lineages of
Phragmites.  We are in the process of developing long-term monitoring plots
in native Phragmites stands throughout Nature Conservancy holdings in Door
County, WI.  The goals of this monitoring project will be to assess the
following questions:

1.      Under what conditions do native stands become aggressive?

2.      At what threshold is a native stand damaging to the community? 

3.      What plants are commonly associated with native Phragmites in the
Great Lakes region?

If you are interested, I can send you a more detailed methodology for our
monitoring project, including what parameters we will be sampling.  

As an additional note, I'd encourage people to mention there is a native
variety of Phragmites and differentiate between the two strains in any
publications or documents.

I look forward to your input!

Thanks again,

Katy Cummings

katy.e.cummings at gmail.com

-- 
Katherine E. Cummings
Door Peninsula Conservation Intern
The Nature Conservancy
Sturgeon Bay, WI

  _____  

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2012.0.2197 / Virus Database: 2437/5227 - Release Date: 08/27/12

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/native-plants_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20120829/de1d1237/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 964 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/native-plants_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20120829/de1d1237/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 2048 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/native-plants_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20120829/de1d1237/attachment.jpg>