A reedbed or reed bed is a natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

found in

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

s, waterlogged depressions and

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environme ...

. Reedbeds are part of a

succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As reedbeds age, they build up a considerable litter layer that eventually rises above the water level and that ultimately provides opportunities in the form of new areas for larger terrestrial plants such as shrubs and trees to colonise. Artificial reedbeds are used to remove pollutants from

greywater Greywater (or grey water, sullage, also spelled gray water in the United States) refers to domestic wastewater generated in households or office buildings from streams without fecal contamination, i.e., all streams except for the wastewater fro ...

, and are also called

constructed wetlands A constructed wetland is an artificial wetland to treat sewage, greywater, stormwater runoff or industrial wastewater. It may also be designed for land reclamation after mining, or as a mitigation step for natural areas lost to land development. ...

.Does Botanical Diversity in Sewage Treatment Reed Beds Enhance Invertebrate Diversity?
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Types

Reedbeds vary in the species that they can support, depending upon water levels within the wetland system, climate, seasonal variations, and the nutrient status and salinity of the water. ''Reed swamps'' have 20 cm or more of surface water during the summer and often have high invertebrate and bird species use. ''Reed fens'' have water levels at or below the surface during the summer and are often more botanically complex. Reeds and similar plants do not generally grow in very acidic water; so, in these situations, reedbeds are replaced by

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s and vegetation such as

poor fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. The ...

. Although common reeds are characteristic of reedbeds, not all vegetation dominated by this species is characteristic of reedbeds. It also commonly occurs in unmanaged, damp

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

and as an understorey in certain types of damp

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

Wildlife

Most

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an reedbeds mainly comprise common reed ('' Phragmites australis'') but also include many other tall

monocotyledon Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, ( Lilianae '' sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one ...

s adapted to growing in wet conditions – other grasses such as reed sweet-grass (''

Glyceria maxima ''Glyceria maxima'' (syn. ''G. aquatica'' (L.) Wahlenb.; ''G. spectabilis'' Mert. & W.D.J. Koch; ''Molinia maxima'' Hartm.; ''Poa aquatica'' L.), commonly known as great manna grass, reed mannagrass, reed sweet-grass, and greater sweet-grass is a ...

''), Canary reed-grass (''

Phalaris arundinacea ''Phalaris arundinacea'', or reed canary grass, is a tall, perennial bunchgrass that commonly forms extensive single-species stands along the margins of lakes and streams and in wet open areas, with a wide distribution in Europe, Asia, norther ...

'') and small-reed ('' Calamagrostis''

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

), large sedges (species of '' Carex'', '' Scirpus'', '' Schoenoplectus'', ''

Cladium ''Cladium'' (fen-sedge, sawgrass or twig-sedge) is a genus of large sedges, with a nearly worldwide distribution in tropical and temperate regions. These are plants characterized by long, narrow (grass-like) leaves having sharp, often serrated ( ...

'' and related genera), yellow flag iris ('' Iris pseudacorus''), reed-mace ("bulrush" – '' Typha'' species), water-plantains (''

Alisma ''Alisma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Alismataceae, members of which are commonly known as water-plantains. The genus consists of aquatic plants with leaves either floating or submerged, found in a variety of still water habit ...

'' species), and flowering rush (''

Butomus umbellatus ''Butomus umbellatus'' is a Eurasian plant species in the family Butomaceae. It is the only species in the family. Common names include flowering rush or grass rush. Introduced into North America as an ornamental plant it has now become a serious ...

''). Many dicotyledons also occur, such as water mint ('' Mentha aquatica''), gipsywort ('' Lycopus europaeus''), skull-cap (''

Scutellaria ''Scutellaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. They are known commonly as skullcaps. The generic name is derived from the Latin ''scutella'', meaning "a small dish, tray or platter",Impatiens noli-tangere ''Impatiens noli-tangere'' (touch-me-not balsam; Latin ''impatiēns'' "impatient" or "not allowing", and ''nōlī tangere'' "do not touch": literally "be unwilling to touch") is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Balsaminaceae found in damp ...

''), brooklime ('' Veronica beccabunga'') and water forget-me-nots ('' Myosotis'' species). Many animals are adapted to living in and around reedbeds. These include mammals such as Eurasian otter,

European beaver The Eurasian beaver (''Castor fiber'') or European beaver is a beaver species that was once widespread in Eurasia, but was hunted to near-extinction for both its fur and castoreum. At the turn of the 20th century, only about 1,200 beavers survi ...

, water vole,

Eurasian harvest mouse The harvest mouse (''Micromys minutus'') is a small rodent native to Europe and Asia. It is typically found in fields of cereal crops, such as wheat and oats, in reed beds and in other tall ground vegetation, such as long grass and hedgerows. It ...

and water shrew, and birds such as

great bittern The Eurasian bittern or great bittern (''Botaurus stellaris'') is a wading bird in the bittern subfamily (Botaurinae) of the heron family Ardeidae. There are two subspecies, the northern race (''B. s. stellaris'') breeding in parts of Europe a ...

, purple heron,

European spoonbill The Eurasian spoonbill (''Platalea leucorodia''), or common spoonbill, is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The genus name ''Platalea'' is from Latin and means "broad", referring to the distinctive shape of the ...

, water rail (and other rails), purple gallinule,

marsh harrier The marsh harriers are birds of prey of the harrier subfamily. They are medium-sized raptors and the largest and broadest-winged harriers. Most of them are associated with marshland and dense reedbeds. They are found almost worldwide, excluding ...

, various warblers ( reed warbler, sedge warbler etc.),

bearded reedling The bearded reedling (''Panurus biarmicus'') is a small, sexually dimorphic reed-bed passerine bird. It is frequently known as the bearded tit, due to some similarities to the long-tailed tit, or the bearded parrotbill. It is the only species ...

and

reed bunting The common reed bunting (''Emberiza schoeniclus'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', ...

Uses

Constructed wetlands

Constructed wetlands are artificial swamps (sometimes called ''reed fields'') using reed or other marshland plants to form part of small-scale sewage treatment systems.

Water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

trickling through the reedbed is cleaned by

microorganism A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in old ...

s living on the root system and in the litter. These organisms utilize the sewage for growth nutrients, resulting in a clean effluent. The process is very similar to aerobic conventional sewage treatment, as the same organisms are used, except that conventional treatment systems require artificial aeration.

Treatment ponds

Treatment ponds are small versions of constructed wetlands which uses reedbeds or other marshland plants to form an even smaller water treatment system. Similar to constructed wetlands, water trickling through the reedbed is cleaned by

s living on the root system and in the litter. Treatment ponds are used for the water treatment of a single house or a small neighbourhood.

Gallery

Svyatoshyn ponds5.JPG, Reedbed of '' Phragmites australis'' and ''

Carex acutiformis ''Carex acutiformis'', the lesser pond-sedge, is a species of sedge. Description It grows up to tall, with leaves up to long and wide. Ecology It is native to parts of northern and western Europe, where it grows in moist spots in a number of ...

'' D-Lindau-NSG Reutiner Bucht.JPG, Reedbed of '' Phragmites australis'' and '' Typha latifolia'' File:Miscanthus sp.JPG, Reedbed of '' Miscanthus'' Arundo donax 2007 (cropped).JPG, Reedbed of '' Arundo donax''

References

{{Authority control Ecology