Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Spartina alterniflora
Introductory
SPECIES: Spartina alterniflora
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Walkup, C. J. 1991. Spartina alterniflora. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/graminoid/spaalt/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
SPAALT
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
SPAL
COMMON NAMES :
smooth cordgrass
saltmarsh cordgrass
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for smooth cordgrass is Spartina
alterniflora Loisel. (Gramineae). Recognized varieties and their
distribution are presented below [24,25,30]:
S. a. var. alterniflora: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, Connecticut
S. a. var. glabra (Muhl.) Fern.: Florida
S. a. var. pilosa (Merr.) Fern.: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Connecticut
LIFE FORM :
Graminoid
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Spartina alterniflora
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Smooth cordgrass is found along the eastern seaboard of North America
from Newfoundland and Quebec to northern Florida, and in the Gulf of
Mexico from Florida to southern Texas [24,27]. It is also found along
the coast in Washington [12].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress
FRES41 Wet grasslands
STATES :
AL CT DE FL GA LA ME MD MA MS
NH NY NC RI SC TX VA WA NF PQ
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
1 Northern Pacific Border
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K073 Northern cordgrass prairie
K078 Southern cordgrass prairie
K092 Everglades
K105 Mangrove
SAF COVER TYPES :
106 Mangrove
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Smooth cordgrass communities are true marsh communities, which have
surface water most of the time. In Louisiana, smooth cordgrass often
occurs in pure stands or with saltgrass (Distichlis spicata) and black
rush (Juncus roemerianus) as less abundant associates. Similar
communities have been described on Ocracoke Island, on islands off the
coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana, and for the Dismal Swamp. Smooth
cordgrass occurs in the understory of relatively open canopies of red
mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) swamps [21].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Spartina alterniflora
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Smooth cordgrass has little value as livestock forage, although it is
sometimes eaten after rains wash away salts accumulated on the leaves.
Smooth cordgrass sites are often too wet for livestock grazing to be
practical [1].
A variety of wildlife species use smooth cordgrass. It is an important
food source for West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) and snow geese
(Chen caerulescens) [1,31]. It has provides limited food value for
muskrats (Ondatra spp.). Fiddler crabs (Uca pugnax) and ribbed mussels
(Geukensia demissa) form facultative mutualistic relationships with
smooth cordgrass. Fiddler crabs excavate burrows which increase soil
drainage, soil oxidation-reduction potential, and in situ decomposition
of belowground plant debris. Smooth cordgrass provides structural
support in the soft soil, which facilitates burrowing [2]. Ribbed
mussels are found attached to stems and roots of smooth cordgrass. The
relationship leads to increased net primary production and stability of
the marsh [3].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
Smooth cordgrass provides cover for waterfowl, wading birds, shorebirds,
and muskrats; and habitat for commercially important fish and shellfish
[29].
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Smooth cordgrass was direct-seeded successfully on damaged marshes found
on dredge spoils from Connecticut to Virginia. Lower littoral zones
were seeded in locations where heavy wave action caused by storms did
not erode away the often top-heavy plants before their root systems
developed sufficiently. Smooth cordgrass seeds and seedlings were also
planted successfully on dredge spoils produced in the maintenance of
navigational channels within sounds and estuaries [11].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Smooth cordgrass provides thatch for roofs [6].
Smooth cordgrass is an important component of Gulf Coast salt marshes
which stabilize shorelines against erosion and filter heavy metals and
toxic materials from the water column [13].
The presence of smooth cordgrass indicates sites with high salinity,
which can be managed for shrimp ponds [20].
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Gulf Coast marshes, because they provide soil stabilization and enhance
water quality, receive the highest priority for protection in
comprehensive oil spill response plans for coastal areas [13]. Effects
of oil spills on salt marshes vary depending on oil type, plant
coverage, season, and marsh elevation [24]. Flushing with seas water is
the most effective clean-up method for oil-contaminated salt marshes at
present. However, once oil penetrates the sediment, not even flushing
will remove it. Flushing is also ineffective at reducing damage to
cordgrass and enhancing long-term plant recovery. If natural tidal
flushing occurs, no other clean-up measures are recommended because
impacts on the community cause more harm than good. Overall, clean-up
responses have limited effectiveness; therefore, primary emphasis should
be placed on contingency planning and protection of salt marsh habitat
from oil spills [13].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Spartina alterniflora
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Smooth cordgrass is a large, coarse, warm-season grass, which is
physiologically adapted to the salt marsh habitat [26,27]. Plants
growing under good conditions reach 8 feet (2.5 m) tall, while those
growing in the high salt marshes, especially at edges of salt pans, may
be only 16 inches (40 cm) tall, including the inflorescence [6]. A
dense stand of this tall grass is like a small forest of dark green
plants. Almost no light gets through to the mud beneath the stand.
Tidal currents are strong where the best growth occurs and wash away
dead leaves, leaving stands clean and free of debris most of the year
[26].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Helophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Smooth cordgrass reproduces both sexually and vegetatively. Sexual
reproduction contributes little to maintenance of established stands but
may be important in the establishment of large disturbance-generated
patches.
Sexual: Germination in New England marshes occurs from April until the
end of June [18]. Germination response to salinity has an inverse
curvilinear relationship, with the maximum tolerance limit for
germination between 6 and 8 percent sodium chloride [19]. Competition
from mature plants prevents seedling establishment. Maximum
establishment occurs on bare patches; seedling survival increases as
bare patch size increases. Tillers appear soon after germination and
spatial location of tillers may be important in determining seedling
success [18].
Vegetative: Vegetative shoots grow in tussocks consisting of a parent
tiller plus daughter tillers developed from axillary buds at the base of
the parent shoot. Tussocks are connected by underground rhizomes [18].
Approximately 40 percent of rhizome growth occurs in the upper 2 inches
(5 cm) of soil from April to October. Over the whole year 74 percent of
the rhizome growth occurs in the upper 5.9 inches (15 cm) [9].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Smooth cordgrass forms dense, monospecific stands in salt and brackish
marshes with mid to high tide levels [6,27,30]. It dominates where
salinities range from 3 to 5 percent and the average water table is 4
inches (10.2 cm) above ground level. Plants may be inundated with salt
water for up to 20 hours per day. Unlike most other marsh plants, the
salt-tolerance of cordgrass is directly proportional to water depth [1].
Smooth cordgrass thrives in anoxic, low marsh habitats due to its
ability to oxygenate its roots and rhizosphere. Rhizosphere oxidation is
not evident in seedlings and small colonizing patches. Both of these
groups are stunted in anoxic low marsh substrates. This suggests that
success of smooth cordgrass in anoxic habitats is size dependent and may
be driven by group benefits of rhizosphere oxidation [5].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Facultative Seral Species
Smooth cordgrass dominates the low marsh habitat in New England, and is
restricted to this habitat by the competitive dominance of marshhay
(Spartina patens) on the seaward border of the high marsh. In the
absence of marshhay, smooth cordgrass will grow vigorously in the high
marsh [4].
Smooth cordgrass is a pioneer species bordering tidal inlets and lagoons
in the saline portions of Texas and Louisiana marshes [15]. It also
invades brackish areas, ditches, and ponds with silt or clay bottoms,
and shallow water in saline areas. After organic matter builds up in
the ponds, brackish marsh dominants such as other cordgrasses (Spartina
spp.), saltgrass (Distichlis spp.), and rushes (Juncus spp.) replace
smooth cordgrass. Smooth cordgrass remains the major dominant in saline
areas, unless they are aggraded by inorganic sediments, which promotes
the establishment of communities of inland saltgrass or marshhay [21].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
In the North, smooth cordgrass plants have a short active period.
Shoots that develop during the summer die completely in the fall and are
often removed before mid-winter by ice and the tides. In the south, the
growing season is longer and fall senescence is slower. Many young
culms initiated in the fall live through the winter. Culms initiated
the previous spring do not complete senescence until the end of winter
[8]. Flowering occurs from June until October [6,12,22]. Variety
pilosa flowers later than the typical form [24].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Spartina alterniflora
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Fire is an important factor in the ecology of the Gulf Coast marshes.
Natural fires, caused by lighting and from spontaneous combustion in
dense stands, have resulted in a fire-dependent ecosystem. Growth
occurs year-round in southern marshes and the vegetation is so luxuriant
that an unburned marsh becomes a veritable tinder box within 3 to 4
years [16].
Smooth cordgrass survives fire by tillering from rhizomes. Seeds may
colonize bare areas following fires which leave some adult plants to
produce seeds.
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Spartina alterniflora
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Fires remove all aboveground vegetation. Severe fires may also kill
rhizomes.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Smooth cordgrass sprouts from the rhizomes following light to moderate
fires [9]. Oil-covered plants burned following an oil-spill did not
survive, indicating that severe fires kill smooth cordgrass rhizomes
[13].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
The Research Project Summary Vegetative response to fire exclusion and
prescribed fire rotation on 2 Maryland salt marshes provides information on
prescribed fire and postfire response of plant community species, including
smooth cordgrass, that was not available when this species review was written.
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Marsh burns falls into three fairly distinct types, depending on the
condition of the marsh at the time of burning. This classification has
only been tested on the Gulf Coast, and should be experimentally tested
in other parts of the country before using [16].
(1) Cover burn - This is the most valuable and widely used
method of marsh burning. The marsh is burned when there are
from 3 to 5 inches (7.6 to 12.7 cm) of standing water present.
Dense vegetative cover will be removed allowing birds easier
access to food and facilitating muskrat trapping.
(2 & 3) Root burn and deep peat burn - Both burns occur without
standing water and are distinguished by the depth to
which the water table has dropped prior to the burn. These
burns may initially be destructive to wildlife, but wildlife
eventually benefit by habitat improvement.
Late summer and early fall burning controls greenhead flies by
destroying many of their eggs, but these fires may be detrimental to
other wildlife species [26].
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Spartina alterniflora
REFERENCES :
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4. Bertness, Mark D. 1991. Interspecific interactions among high marsh
perennials in a New England salt marsh. Ecology. 72(1): 125-137.
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