VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Phragmites australis | Common Reed 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Common reed is a high quality livestock forage during early growth
stages.  At this time it is readily eaten by cattle and horses and may
be cut for hay.  After maturity, however, it becomes tough and
unpalatable [16,28].

Common reed is not an important wildlife food.  Occasionally, seeds are
eaten by waterfowl, and rhizomes and stems by muskrats [33].  


PALATABILITY : 
Common reed is highly palatable to livestock and wildlife when plants
are young and growing vigorously [16].  This period of high palatability
lasts for only a few weeks in Manitoba [48].  After maturity common reed
becomes unpalatable [28].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Common reed's energy value is rated as fair and its protein value as
poor [7].  In the Southeast, livestock should be fed a protein
supplement when grazing this grass in the winter [28].


COVER VALUE : 
Nesting cover:  Common reed often grows in vast, unbroken stands along
marsh edges.  These stands are typically dense and impenetrable, and
except for the stand edge, are of little value to nesting waterfowl.
Ward [48,49] reported that the interior of large common reed stands at
the Delta Marsh, Manitoba, were practically void of nesting ducks.
Stand edges, however, were frequently used; 31 percent of 147 duck nests
were found there.  The most common duck species nesting in common reed
edges were the mallard, lesser scaup, canvasback, ruddy duck, and
redhead.  Conversely, Cross [4] found that both the interior and edges
of common reed stands provided poor waterfowl nesting habitat.  She
cited studies at Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Utah, and
at the Delta Marsh in Manitoba, where only 4 to 6 percent of duck nests
were found in common reed, all near the stand edge.  At Fish Springs
NWR, only snowy egrets, black-crowned night herons, and yellow-headed
blackbirds nested in the interior of common reed stands.

Hiding and thermal cover:  Common reed provides good cover for
flightless adult ducks during their molting period [42,48].  Common
reed's height and density make it useful as hiding and escape cover for
big game species like deer [16,49].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Common reed is an excellent soil stabilizer and spreads rapidly.  It is
used in many wetland rehabilitation and stabilization projects.  It is
used to revegetate disturbed riparian areas, control shore erosion,
stabilize river and canal banks, and reduce wave action on watershed
structures.  It is best established by spring transplanting of sprigs or
plugs collected from local stands.  The cultivar 'Shoreline' is
available for use in the southern part of the Central Great Plains
[25,45].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
A cosmopolitan species, common reed has been cultivated and used for
many purposes around the world.  In Europe, it is used as thatching, to
make mats, and as fodder and bedding for cattle.  The aerial stems are
sometimes used as a cellulose source in the paper and textile industries
[19].  Native peoples of the American Southwest used the stems to make
arrow shafts, prayer sticks, weaving rods, pipestems, mats, screens,
nets, and thatching [24].  They also used the rootstocks and seeds as
food.  In the Southwest, it is also used for lattices and in the
construction of adobe huts [22].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Control:  Because of its undesirable qualities [see Cover Value],
control of common reed in marshes managed for waterfowl is sometimes
necessary.  However, because waterfowl may benefit from mixing common
reed with other marsh plant species or open water, complete eradication
is seldom warranted [5].  Aerial applications of systemic herbicides
applied when plants are actively growing can control common reed.
Amitrole, dalapon, and glyphosate are the most effective.  Some
researchers have found that split applications at one-half the dosage,
with the second application 15 to 30 days after the first, are more
effective than a single application [5].  Mechanical control includes
discing or plowing, crushing, mowing, and dredging.  Summer mowing
greatly reduces common reed on sites that become dry during the summer
but is ineffective on sites that remain moist [48].  At the Delta Marsh
in Manitoba, common reed was replaced by a shortgrass-sedge-thistle
meadow after 3 successive years of summer mowing [48].  In Britain,
cutting during July resulted in a 40 percent reduction in aboveground
biomass the following growing season [19].  Grazing is not recommended
as a control measure in waterfowl management areas because the amount of
grazing needed to reduce stands would be detrimental to desirable plant
species as well [5].

Grazing:  Common reed is moderately tolerant of grazing, but prolonged
heavy grazing tends to reduce the extent and size of stands [15].  For
maximum production in the Southeast, no more than 50 percent of the
current year's growth by weight should be grazed during the growing
season [28].

Related categories for Species: Phragmites australis | Common Reed