Extent and Reproductive Mechanisms of Phragmites australis Spread in Brackish Wetlands in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland (USA)

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Wetlands

Volume

30

Issue

1

Publisher

Springer Verlag

Publication Date

2010

Keywords

clonal propagation, genetic diversity, invasive species, non-native genotype, Rhode River, seeds

First Page

67

Last Page

74

Abstract

The number of patches of non-native Phragmites australis in brackish tidal wetlands in the Rhode River subestuary increased from 5 in 1971–72 to 212 in 2007, and the area covered by the patches increased more than 25 times during the same time interval. Genetic analysis of the patches showed that the expansion has primarily been from seed, and genetic similarities between patches indicate that most cross-pollination occurs within a distance of 50 m. Comparison of patches in different parts of the subestuary indicate that the expansion of Phragmites australis has occurred at the scale of the entire subestuary and not the scale of subsections of the subestuary dominated by differing upland land-uses.

Comments

Originally published by Springer Verlag on behalf of the Society of Wetland Scientists. Publisher's PDF and HTML fulltext available through remote link.

Karin Kettenring was employed at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center when this article was published.

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