The Alkali (Scirpus maritimus L.) and Saltmarsh (S. robustus Pursh) Bulrushes: A Literature Review

Abstract

Alkali (Scirpus maritimus L.) and saltmarsh (S. robustus Pursh) bulrushes are closely related, emergent hydrophytes that are important as foods of waterfowl and other wildlife. Water depth, water level fluctuations, exposure, sediment and water salinity, and shading by taller emergents strongly affect growth and reproduction. Important management problems are inconsistent achene germination, difficulties with maintenance and timing of water level and salinity cycles, and acidification of sediments. Other serious problems are competition from other hydrophytes and the largely unpredictable effects of grazing, burning, tilling, and other land use practices. Recent management efforts have focused on thinning stands of the two bulrushes or intermixing them with stands of shorter emergents and submersed plants in order to increase the variety of food plants available to waterfowl and other birds. Information needed for more effective management includes the optimum size and vegetation interspersion of treated areas, treatment response, and the combined effects of natural disturbances such as grazing and burning. Control of a few salt-tolerant plants requires closure of some impoundments to the open sea for long periods. Such closures are of concern to fisheries managers, especially in areas where coastal marshes are disappearing. Conversely, in other managed wetlands, freshwater diverted from rivers pushes estuarine water seaward, making it difficult to obtain waters of sufficient salinity to control undesirable freshwater plants. Research and conservation thus need to be combined in many areas to improve management of these bulrushes.

Key words: Emergent hydrophytes, Scirpus maritimus, Scirpus robustus, autecology, management, sedges, taxonomy, wetlands, wildlife.

Kantrud, Harold A.  1996.  The alkali (Scirpus maritimus L.) and saltmarsh 
     (S. robustus Pursh) bulrushes: A literature review.  National Biological
     Service, Information and Technology Report 6.  77pp.

Kantrud, Harold A.  1996.  The alkali (Scirpus maritimus L.) and saltmarsh 
     (S. robustus Pursh) bulrushes: A literature review.  National Biological
     Service, Information and Technology Report 6.  Jamestown, ND: Northern 
     Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online.
     http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/bulrush/index.htm 
     (Version 16JUL97).

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Taxonomy and Distribution
• Autecological Classification
• Development and Reproduction
  • Belowground Parts
  • Aboveground Parts
  • Phenology
  • Sexual Reproduction
  • Asexual Reproduction
• Physiology
• Growth and Production
  • Rate
  • Density and Yield
  • Chemical Caloric Content
  • Decomposition
• Habitat and Associated Abiotic Limiting Factors
  • Coastal Wetland Types
  • Interior Wetland Types
  • Water Column
    • Depth
    • Temperature
    • Chemistry
    • Fluctuations
  • Bottom Sediment
    • Texture
    • Sedimentation and Disturbance
    • Chemistry
    • Slope
  • Land Use
• Biotic Communities and Associated Limiting Factors
  • Macrophytes
  • Algae
  • Diseases and Parasites
  • Invertebrates
  • Amphibians, Reptiles, and Fishes
  • Birds
  • Mammals
• Economics
• Propagation and Management
• Control Methods
  • Chemical Control
  • Physical and Biological Control
• Research Needs
  • Acknowledgments
• Literature Cited A - G
• Literature Cited H - P
• Literature Cited Q - Z

Tables

• Table 1 -- References and subject material about the morphology and reproduction of Scirpus maritimus or S. robustus
• Table 2 -- References and subject material about the growth, production, and chemical and caloric content of Scirpus maritimus and S. robustus
• Table 3 -- Scirpus maritimus and S. robustus peak aboveground biomass or standing crop or annual net primary production, belowground biomass or annual net belowground production, and probable factors limiting biomass
• Table 4 -- Chemical composition of various parts of Scirpus maritimus and S. robustus from wild populations
• Table 5 -- General habitat features for Scirpus maritimus and S. robustus arranged according to increasing observed tolerance of water depth
• Table 6 -- Salinities of waters inhabited by Scirpus maritimus and S. robustus arranged according to increasing maximum observed salt tolerance
• Table 7 -- Relation of mean and range of water chemistry factors to abundance of Scirpus maritimus in prairie wetlands
• Table 8 -- Chemical content of water in wetlands containing Scirpus maritimus or S. robustus
• Table 9 -- Predominant textural types of bottom sediments supporting growth of Scirpus maritimus and S. robustus
• Table 10 -- Chemistry of bottom sediments supporting Scirpus maritimus and S. robustus
• Table 11 -- Use of unspecified plant parts, achenes, leaves and shoots, and corms and rhizomes of Scirpus maritimus and S. robustus as food by groups of waterfowl

Appendices

• Appendix A -- Co-occurrences of Scirpus maritimus s. lat. with other emergent vascular plants.
  • Appendix A Continued-1
  • Appendix A Continued-2
  • Appendix A Continued-3
• Appendix B -- Co-occurrences of Scirpus robustus s. lat. with other emergent vascular plants.
  • Appendix B Continued-1

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National Biological Service

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