Calamagrostis Canescens: Population Biology of a Clonal Grass Invading Wetlands

Abstract

The preading ability of Calamagrostis canescens, a long-lived perennial grass of Central Europe, is exemplified by its behaviour in a sedge fen near Třeboň, Czechoslovakia. The process of invasion was observed within a stable community in the field. The hypothesis that the development of an invader is species-specific and does not depend on the original occupants was tested comparing natural invasion of communities by C. canescens with establishment of the species in experimental monocultures. The final stage of extensive spreading of the species was traced along a 510-m-long linear transect between 1982 and 1989. Closed stands with the maximum cover abundance (60 to 70%) and aboveground biomass (426 g m −2 ) were achieved within 5 to 6 years from a low initial occupation density of 1.5 seedlings m −2 (...)