Nearctic Reedbed Marshes - Code: Ne11A

One of the hardiest and most spread wetland types on the continent, the gently bobbing seedheads of the Common cat-tail (Typha latifolia) are a familiar sight to anyone who has spent time near fresh water in the Nearctic. These tall and impenetrable reedbeds are home to many secretive marsh birds and listening carefully is often crucial to detecting wildlife here. Viewing can be quite difficult and Nearctic Reedbed Marshes are often best viewed from open edges or boardwalks. 
This is a wetland of shallow, stagnant and permanent or semipermanent waters, often occurring on the shallow margins of lakes and ponds, artificial ditches or seasonally flooded depressions. As a habitat of intermediate water depth, these marshes are frequently bound by Open Water on the lowland side and a variety of habitats on the upland edge. The surface is  flooded for most of the year, though key plant species can survive in muddy soil without standing water. 
The most conspicuous feature of these marshes is towering and uniform emergent vegetation that is frequently dominated by a single species. Throughout most of the range it is the Common or Broad-leaved cat-tail that occupies this role, though several other species of cat-tail are present, especially in the southern range of this habitat. In the western part of the range the Tule or Hard-stem Bulrush ( Schoenoplectus acutus) fills this role. Throughout the region, non-native Common Reed or Phragmites (Phragmites australis) is a frequent component, eventually replacing cat-tail and tule. In Europe, Common Reed creates and analogous habitat with many of the equivalent animal niches.
Despite the uniform appearance of Bulrush and Reed-bed Marshes there is a diverse array of wetland plant-life hidden in the understory or around the margins. Associated species include wool-grass (Scirpus cyperinus), arrow-arum (Peltandra sp.), bur-reed (Sparangium sp.), sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis), jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), pickerel-weed (Pontederia cordata), wapato (Sagittaria sp.), beggar-ticks (Bidens sp.), smartweeds (Polygonum sp.), and duckweed (Lemnoideae). These plants are often important forage for animals living here as Cat-tail and Tule are largely inedible.
The hardiness of many wetland plants has led to them becoming a destructive and invasive system throughout much of their range. Nutrient rich run off and low-disturbance water regimes allow Typha and Phragmites to flourish at the expense of more sensitive freshwater plants. Within these already resilient systems, the invasive species common reed, narrow-leaved cat-tail, and purple loosestrife are frequently a major problem, crowding out common cat-tail and tule. Despite this a notable percentage of the wildlife communities can persist in these invaded habitats.