Eric L. G. Hazelton

Phragmites australis management in the United States: 40 years of methods and outcomes

We reviewed all available studies on Phragmites australis management in the United States. Our results show that there is a heavy emphasis on herbicides to manage Phragmites, relative to other methods, and a lack of information on what types of plant communities establish once Phragmites is removed. Our model of Phragmites establishment and reproduction describes the invasion as a symptom of watershed-scale land use and disturbance. We advocate more holistic approaches to control and management that focus on improving water quality and minimizing human disturbance to deter future invasion and improve resilience of native plant communities.

Physiological ecology and functional traits of North American native and Eurasian introduced Phragmites australis lineages

Biological invasion pose serious threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services worldwide. While the effects of invasive species are well-documents, less is known about which specific plant traits convey “invasiveness” because most studies compare closely related, but different species which can confound results. A review of the literature by Mozdzer and other scientists compared genetic lineages of the same species, those native to North American and a lineage introduced from Europe to address this complex issue. The authors found that the ability to change both physiologically and morphologically were the key to success of the introduced genetic lineage under current and predicted global change conditions.

Biotic resistance, disturbance, and mode of colonization impact the invasion of a widespread, introduced wetland grass.

Disturbance and biotic resistance are important factors driving plant invasions, but how these factors interact for plants with different modes of colonization (i.e., sexual and asexual) is unclear. We evaluated factors influencing the invasion of nonnative Phragmites australis, which has been rapidly expanding in brackish tidal wetlands in Chesapeake Bay. We conducted a survey of naturally occurring small-scale disturbances (removal of vegetation and/or sediment deposition) across four plant communities; determined the effects of small-scale disturbance and biotic resistance on P. australis seedling and rhizome emergence; and tested the effects of size and frequency of small-scale disturbances on seedling emergence and survival of transplanted seedlings. The results of our study demonstrate that the invasion window for seeds is in disturbed areas in high-marsh plant communities that flood less frequently; seedling emergence in undisturbed areas was negligible. Establishment of shoots from rhizome segments was low in all plant communities. Disturbance size and frequency had no significant impact on seed germination and seedling survival. Our findings provide evidence that small-scale within-wetland disturbances are important for the invasion of the nonnative lineage of P. australis by seeds in brackish tidal wetlands in Chesapeake Bay. Efforts to reduce disturbances, large and small, in wetlands can be used to limit P. australis invasion by seed, but invasion by rhizome is still likely to occur across many plant communities irrespective of the presence of disturbance.

Cosmopolitan Species As Models for Ecophysiological Responses to Global Change: The Common Reed Phragmites australis

Phragmites australis is a cosmopolitan grass and often the dominant species in the ecosystems it inhabits. Due to high intraspecific diversity and phenotypic plasticity, P. australis has an extensive ecological amplitude and a great capacity to acclimate to adverse environmental conditions; it can therefore offer valuable insights into plant responses to global change. Here we review the ecology and ecophysiology of prominent P. australis lineages and their responses to multiple forms of global change. Key findings of our review are that: (1) P. australis lineages are well-adapted to regions of their phylogeographic origin and therefore respond differently to changes in climatic conditions such as temperature or atmospheric CO2; (2) each lineage consists of populations that may occur in geographically different habitats and contain multiple genotypes; (3) the phenotypic plasticity of functional and fitness-related traits of a genotype determine the responses to global change factors; (4) genotypes with high plasticity to environmental drivers may acclimate or even vastly expand their ranges, genotypes of medium plasticity must acclimate or experience range-shifts, and those with low plasticity may face local extinction; (5) responses to ancillary types of global change, like shifting levels of soil salinity, flooding, and drought, are not consistent within lineages and depend on adaptation of individual genotypes. These patterns suggest that the diverse lineages of P. australis will undergo intense selective pressure in the face of global change such that the distributions and interactions of co-occurring lineages, as well as those of genotypes within-lineages, are very likely to be altered. We propose that the strong latitudinal clines within and between P. australis lineages can be a useful tool for predicting plant responses to climate change in general and present a conceptual framework for using P. australis lineages to predict plant responses to global change and its consequences.

Place-Based Education and Geographic Information Systems: Enhancing the Spatial Awareness of Middle School Students in Maine

ABSTRACT Spatial literacy is a new frontier in K–12 education. This article describes a place-based introductory GIS/GPS middle school curriculum unit in which students used measuring tools, GPS units, and My World GIS software to collect physical and spatial data of trees to create a schoolyard tree inventory. Maine students completed “memory maps” of their schoolyards as a pre/post exercise assessment. A statistically significant increase in students’ spatial awareness was documented. A technology-based curriculum can significantly increase students’ spatial awareness especially in a place and context relevant to each student.

Maximal stomatal conductance to water and plasticity in stomatal traits differ between native and invasive introduced lineages of Phragmites australis in North America

Using previously identified Phragmites clonal genotypes we investigated differences in their phenotypic plasticity through measurements of the lengths and densities of stomata on both the abaxial (lower) and adaxial (upper) surfaces of leaves, and synthesized these measurements to estimate impacts on maximum stomatal conductance to water (gwmax). Results demonstrated that at three marsh sites invasive lineages have consistently greater gwmax than their native congeners, as a result of greater stomatal densities and smaller stomata. Our analysis also suggests that phenotypic plasticity, determined as within genotype variation in gwmax, of the invasive lineage is similar to, or exceeds that shown by the native lineage.