Selected Ecological Characteristics of Scirpus Cyperinus and Its Role as an Invader of Disturbed Wetlands

Abstract

Scirpus Cyperinus (woolgrass) is a common invader of disturbed wetlands where soils have been exposed by water level reductions or vegetative cover has been reduced by various means. Its usual habitats include ditches, wet meadows, marshes and low, muddy grounds in the eastern United States and Canada. This study documents the encroachment of a woolgrass community onto well-decomposed organic soils exposed when long-term, industrial-related flooding of a wetland was terminated. Data were collected on spatial and temporal distribution patterns, species replacement, seed dispersal and growth, and environmental conditions. The ecological characteristics that enable Scirpus Cyperinus to be an effective colonizer were concluded to be: the vast number of seeds produced, effective dispersal of seeds, the clinging ability of seeds with long bristles, viability of the seeds stored in sediments, exclusion of other plants by a dense, perennial tussock growth form, and a fairly wide range of tolerance to environmental conditions.