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A1431 Phragmites australis ssp. australis Ruderal Marsh Alliance

Type Concept Sentence: This alliance consists of non-tidal Phragmites australis ssp. australis marshes with semipermanently or, rarely, seasonally flooded hydrology, occurring either in depressions or along rivers with seasonal fluctuation in water level throughout the United States and adjacent Canada.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: European Common Reed Ruderal Marsh Alliance

Colloquial Name: Ruderal Non-tidal Common Reed Marsh

Hierarchy Level:  Alliance

Type Concept: This alliance consists of non-tidal Phragmites australis ssp. australis marshes with semipermanently or, rarely, seasonally flooded hydrology, occurring either in depressions or along rivers with seasonal fluctuation in water level throughout the United States and adjacent Canada. This includes semipermanently flooded marshes, ditches, impoundments, etc., which are strongly dominated by essentially monospecific stands of Phragmites australis, which is rapidly spreading in disturbed areas and excluding native vegetation. Stands may be composed entirely of Phragmites australis, with few or no other vascular plants present.

Diagnostic Characteristics: Herbaceous marshes strongly dominated by Phragmites australis.

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This is not a native community but is the result of the invasion of alien Phragmites australis ssp. australis into natural vegetation. Marks et al. (1994) present a rangewide assessment of the naturalness of this species. The vegetation has variable hydrology and, unless Phragmites is clearly dominant, is often treated as part of other marsh and meadow types. The geographic distribution of the type is arbitrarily limited to Bailey''s Humid Temperate Domain in eastern North America (Bailey 1997, 1998). Stands in northern Minnesota and farther north in Canada may represent native stands. If so, they should be tracked as a different type. Tidal vegetation of the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Texas dominated by Phragmites australis (presumably ssp. berlandieri) is classified in a separate Phragmites australis tidal alliance.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: This alliance is dominated by herbaceous vegetation 2-3 m tall. Vegetation cover tends to be moderately dense to very dense, unless recent severe disturbance has reduced it. Shrubs are absent or rare.

Floristics: This alliance, which ranges widely across the United States, is characterized by dense stands of Phragmites australis ssp. australis, which tends to grow in colonies of tall, stout, leafy plants often to the exclusion of all other vascular plant species. Associated species can be quite variable because Phragmites can invade many types of wetlands, including saturated, semipermanently, seasonally, and temporarily flooded types, ranging from fens to shoreline meadows. It can also establish in some upland situations.

Dynamics:  The presence of this alliance in wetlands today generally indicates human-induced disturbance, either through direct habitat manipulation or through passive introduction of reproductive material to naturally disturbed substrates (Marks et al. 1994). Although Phragmites australis is apparently a native component of salt marshes (rhizomes have been noted in salt marsh sediments exceeding 3000 years in age) (Niering and Warren 1977), the expression of the species in its purely native condition was likely to have been significantly different from the dense monotypic stands that characterize most present expressions of Phragmites australis-dominated vegetation.
Environmental Description:  This alliance is found in non-tidal marshes with semipermanently or, rarely, seasonally flooded hydrology, either in depressions or along rivers with seasonal fluctuation in water level throughout the United States and adjacent Canada. This includes semipermanently flooded marshes, ditches, impoundments, etc.
Geographic Range: This alliance occurs throughout the eastern half of the United States and southern Canada in non-tidal settings.

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  AL, AR, CT, DC?, DE, FL, GA, IA, IN, LA, LB?, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MS, NC, NF?, NH, NJ, NS?, NY, OH, ON, PA, PE?, QC, RI, SC, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV


Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNA

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class C02 2
Subclass 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass S44 2.C
Formation 2.C.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation F013 2.C.4
Division 2.C.4.Nd Eastern North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division D323 2.C.4.Nd
Macrogroup 2.C.4.Nd.90 Common Rush - Purple Loosestrife - Reed Canarygrass Eastern North American Ruderal Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup M303 2.C.4.Nd.90
Group 2.C.4.Nd.90.b Reed Canarygrass - Common Reed - Narrowleaf Cattail Ruderal Wet Meadow & Marsh Group G556 2.C.4.Nd.90.b
Alliance A1431 European Common Reed Ruderal Marsh Alliance A1431 2.C.4.Nd.90.b
Association CEGL004141 European Common Reed Eastern Ruderal Marsh CEGL004141 2.C.4.Nd.90.b
Association CEGL004187 European Common Reed Tidal Ruderal Marsh CEGL004187 2.C.4.Nd.90.b
Concept Lineage: This alliance is composed of old A.1431 in the northeastern and midwestern United States and southern Canada.

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
Concept Author(s): D.J. Allard, in Faber-Langendoen et al. (2013)

Author of Description: J. Drake and M. Pyne

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 10-21-15
  • Bailey, R. 1997. Map: Ecoregions of North America (revised). USDA Forest Service in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, DC. 1:15,000,000.
  • Bailey, R. G. 1998. Ecoregion map of North America: Explanatory note. Miscellaneous Publication Number 1548, USDA Forest Service. 10 pp.
  • Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, M. Hall, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, M. Russo, K. Schulz, L. Sneddon, K. Snow, and J. Teague. 2013-2019b. Screening alliances for induction into the U.S. National Vegetation Classification: Part 1 - Alliance concept review. NatureServe, Arlington, VA.
  • Faber-Langendoen, D., and Midwest State Natural Heritage Program Ecologists. 1996. Terrestrial vegetation of the midwest United States. International classification of ecological communities: Terrestrial vegetation of the United States. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA.
  • Hoagland, B. 2000. The vegetation of Oklahoma: A classification for landscape mapping and conservation planning. The Southwestern Naturalist 45(4):385-420.
  • Hoagland, B. W. 1998c. Oklahoma riparian vegetation. In: A. Fallon and M. Smolen, editors. Riparian area management handbook. Publication number E-952. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater.
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  • Nelson, J. B. 1986. The natural communities of South Carolina: Initial classification and description. South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Columbia, SC. 55 pp.
  • Niering, W. A., and R. S. Warren. 1977. Our dynamic tidal marshes: Vegetation changes as revealed by peat analysis. The Connecticut Arboretum Bulletin 22.
  • Schafale, M. P., and A. S. Weakley. 1990. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina. Third approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh. 325 pp.
  • Swearingen, J., and K. Saltonstall. 2012. Phragmites field guide: Distinguishing native and exotic forms of common reed (Phragmites australis) in the United States. TN Plant Materials No. 56. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Boise, ID. 23 pp. [http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_PLANTMATERIALS/publications/idpmctn11494.pdf]
  • Wieland, R. G. 1994a. Marine and estuarine habitat types and associated ecological communities of the Mississippi Coast. Museum Technical Report 25. Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Museum of Natural Science, Jackson, MS. 270 pp.