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Effects of Great Lakes water levels on coastal populations of Phragmites australis GeoNarrative

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By Great Lakes Science Center June 23, 2022

The "Phragmites Management and Variable Great Lakes Water Levels" GeoNarrative presents research by the US Geological Survey and US Fish and Wildlife Service on how Great Lakes water levels affect expansion and management of coastal Phragmites populations.

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Researcher in a wetland with Phragmites
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Non-native Phragmites covers the shores of a wetland as a man in waders walks through the water.  

Water levels in the Great Lakes fluctuate over the long term due to climatic events changing the patterns of precipitation and ice cover. These long term fluctuations can drastically influence coastal vegetation, as well as the areas vulnerable to invasion by Phragmites australis. Experts predict more intense fluctuations in Great Lakes water levels due to global Climate Change, which could lead to an invasion landscape that rapidly changes from year to year. This GeoNarrative explores the ways that Great Lakes water levels have impacted the coastal populations of Phragmites in the past and how future changes in water levels could promote Phragmites expansion or create the opportunity to use the “cut-to-drown” management strategy for control. It also introduces ongoing research by the US Geological Survey and US Fish and Wildlife Service to test the impacts of high water on Phragmites survival and the efficacy of the cut-to-drown management strategy in the field.

The "Phragmites Management and Variable Great Lakes Water Levels" GeoNarrative presents research by the US Geological Survey and US Fish and Wildlife Service on how Great Lakes water levels affect expansion and management of coastal Phragmites populations.

Go To Geonarrative
Researcher in a wetland with Phragmites
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Non-native Phragmites covers the shores of a wetland as a man in waders walks through the water.  

Water levels in the Great Lakes fluctuate over the long term due to climatic events changing the patterns of precipitation and ice cover. These long term fluctuations can drastically influence coastal vegetation, as well as the areas vulnerable to invasion by Phragmites australis. Experts predict more intense fluctuations in Great Lakes water levels due to global Climate Change, which could lead to an invasion landscape that rapidly changes from year to year. This GeoNarrative explores the ways that Great Lakes water levels have impacted the coastal populations of Phragmites in the past and how future changes in water levels could promote Phragmites expansion or create the opportunity to use the “cut-to-drown” management strategy for control. It also introduces ongoing research by the US Geological Survey and US Fish and Wildlife Service to test the impacts of high water on Phragmites survival and the efficacy of the cut-to-drown management strategy in the field.