Phragmites Management Look-Up Table

In medicine, we have personalized medicine. In advertising, targeted marketing. In Wetland Restoration, we need to recognize that each wetland is unique. One of the likely reasons management doesn’t always control Phragmites in the short or long term is that it isn’t informed by site-specific conditions. Phragmites can dominate wetlands for various reasons (e.g., disturbance, propagule pressure, and nitrogen (N) loading) and if these factors aren’t taken into consideration, management might fail. For this reason, The Mondrian Modelling Team (MMT) teamed up with Michigan Tech Research Institute, The Nature Conservancy, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Saginaw Bay CISMA, Michigan DNR, Bay County and USFWS on a project funded by the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program (MISGP) to come up with a tool that would allow managers to get an estimate of the best control techniques based on site conditions. To do this, we used Mondrian, an individual based computer model, that simulates growth and competition for nutrients and light among individual plants; N cycling both drives, and is driven by, plant growth, litter production, and biogeochemistry of litter and sediment organic matter. Mondrian was augmented to simulate burning, mowing, and herbicide application as management techniques. This Look-Up Table summarizes the Mondrian model's recommended course of action to manage Phragmites under many different wetland conditions. Click here to explore these recommendations now, or learn more about Mondrian and the Look-Up table by clicking the navigational links on the left.