Fire adaptations: Common spikerush is fire tolerant when dormant [166] and top-killed by fire during the growing season [98,183]. Common spikerush establishes after fire through seed and/or lateral spread by rhizomes [96,98,121,183].
FIRE REGIMES: Common spikerush occurs in wetlands where the fire frequency may differ greatly from surrounding communities or ecosystems listed in the table below. There is very little research on the fire return interval of wetlands that support common spikerush. There is some research on the fire return interval for the northern cordgrass prairie where common spikerush occurs. Frost [53,54] identifies a fire frequency of 1 to 12 years in saline and brackish marshes. In Landfire's Rapid Assessment Reference Condition model of the northern cordgrass prairie, mean occurrence of stand-replacement fires is 7 years, with a range of 2 to 50 years. Stand-replacement fires account for 97% of fires in the northern cordgrass prairie. The other 3% are mixed-severity fires, which occur very infrequently. FIRE REGIMES in the northern cordgrass prairies vary widely because the probability of ignition is affected by the presence of open water channels, connection to uplands, and the natural fire regime of adjacent uplands. Northern cordgrass prairie marsh island likely would have been fire free unless ignited by Native Americans [103]. Common spikerush occurs in Louisiana salt marshes, where lightning fires may occur several times per year [56,130]. The following table provides fire return intervals for plant communities and ecosystems where common spikerush is important. Find further 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".
Community or ecosystem Dominant species Fire return interval range (years) bluestem prairie Andropogon gerardii var. gerardii-Schizachyrium scoparium 99,133] bluestem-Sacahuista prairie Andropogon littoralis-Spartina spartinae 133] silver sagebrush steppe Artemisia cana 5-45 [73,138,181] sagebrush steppe Artemisia tridentata/Pseudoroegneria spicata 20-70 [133] basin big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata var. tridentata 12-43 [147] mountain big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata var. vaseyana 15-40 [6,23,122] Wyoming big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata var. wyomingensis 10-70 (mean = 40) [168,182] saltbush-greasewood Atriplex confertifolia-Sarcobatus vermiculatus 133] desert grasslands Bouteloua eriopoda and/or Pleuraphis mutica 10 to <100 [117,133] plains grasslands Bouteloua spp. 133,181] blue grama-needle-and-thread grass-western wheatgrass Bouteloua gracilis-Hesperostipa comata-Pascopyrum smithii 133,146,181] blue grama-buffalo grass Bouteloua gracilis-Buchloe dactyloides <35 [133,181] grama-galleta steppe Bouteloua gracilis-Pleuraphis jamesii <35 to <100 blue grama-tobosa prairie Bouteloua gracilis-Pleuraphis mutica 133] cheatgrass Bromus tectorum 135,176] blackbrush Coleogyne ramosissima <35 to <100 northern cordgrass prairie Distichlis spicata-Spartina spp. 1-3 [133] California steppe Festuca-Danthonia spp. 133,162] black ash Fraxinus nigra 170] western juniper Juniperus occidentalis 20-70 Rocky Mountain juniper Juniperus scopulorum <35 [133] western larch Larix occidentalis 25-350 [5,12,36] creosotebush Larrea tridentata <35 to <100 [133] yellow-poplar Liriodendron tulipifera <35 [170] Everglades Mariscus jamaicensis <10 [128] wheatgrass plains grasslands Pascopyrum smithii <5-47+ [133,138,181] Great Lakes spruce-fir Picea-Abies spp. 35 to >200 northeastern spruce-fir Picea-Abies spp. 35-200 [45] southeastern spruce-fir Picea-Abies spp. 35 to >200 [170] pinyon-juniper Pinus-Juniperus spp. <35 [133] Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine* Pinus contorta var. latifolia 25-340 [11,12,163] Sierra lodgepole pine* Pinus contorta var. murrayana 35-200 [4] Colorado pinyon Pinus edulis 10-400+ [51,90,133,62] Pacific ponderosa pine* Pinus ponderosa var. ponderosa 1-47 [4] interior ponderosa pine* Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum 2-30 [4,9,106] galleta-threeawn shrubsteppe Pleuraphis jamesii-Aristida purpurea <35 to <100 eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides <35 to 200 [133] quaking aspen-paper birch Populus tremuloides-Betula papyrifera 35-200 [45,170] quaking aspen (west of the Great Plains) Populus tremuloides 7-120 [4,64,119] mountain grasslands Pseudoroegneria spicata 3-40 (mean = 10) [3,4] Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir* Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca 25-100 [4,6,7] coastal Douglas-fir* Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii 40-240 [4,124,144] California mixed evergreen Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii-Lithocarpus densiflorus-Arbutus menziesii <35 California oakwoods Quercus spp. <35 [4] little bluestem-grama prairie Schizachyrium scoparium-Bouteloua spp. <35 tule marshes Scirpus and/or Typha spp. <35 southern cordgrass prairie Spartina alterniflora 1-3 [133] *fire return interval varies widely; trends in variation are noted in the species reviewInvasive species: If fire is chosen as a tool for common spikerush, managers should be cognizant of potential negative effects on associated or surrounding vegetation. For instance, common spikerush is a dominant species at Utah Lake, Utah [19]. In the past several decades the area has been infested by saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissma), which is highly fire tolerant and may expand after disturbances such as fire and severely reduce native plant coverage [110]. In Colorado, common spikerush is commonly associated with dense stands of Canada thistle [41,156]. Managers should be careful using fire as a management tool where Canada thistle exists, because it may expand after disturbances such as fire and severely reduce native plant coverage [13,116,131,149].
Wildlife: Common spikerush provides important cover and to a lesser extent a source of food for waterfowl species in southeastern and Gulf Coast salt marshes and western riparian areas (see Importance to Livestock and Wildlife). Thus, burning salt marshes where common spikerush occurs may be detrimental to waterfowl.
Common spikerush occurs throughout its range in wet areas such as marshes (fresh and saline) [8,19,24,74,79,81,104,123,127,140,169,175,180,34], ephemeral ponds [10,82,123,175,34], flooded saline playas [10,74,92,161], ditches [74,79], intermittent streams [123,178], river, stream, reservoir, and lake margins [19,26,65,67,79,82,127,169,178], sloughs [123], wet meadows [169], bogs [169,180], swamps [161,169], and vernal pools [78,83]. Common spikerush is drought intolerant [166].
In Alaska and subalpine Colorado, common spikerush is found around warm springs where soils are between 59°F (15 °C) and 72 °F (22 °C) [27]. Common spikerush is listed as almost always (≥99%) occurring in wetland areas of northwestern Montana [17] and southern and eastern Idaho [65].
Climate: Common spikerush is widespread in temperate to cold temperature regions of the Northern Hemisphere [76,74,75]. Common spikerush can withstand temperature minimums of -38 °F to -44 °F (-39 °C to -42 °C) [8,166], but requires at least 100 frost free days for growth [166]. Common spikerush tolerates an annual precipitation regime of 16 to 60 inches (406-1520 mm) [166].
Elevation: The elevation range of common spikerush for several locations is presented below:
Location Elevation Arizona 150 to 6,500 feet [88] California 0 to 8,000 feet [14,74,127] Colorado 5,000 to 9,000 feet [10,70] Idaho 4,700 to 9,900 feet [65,132] Montana 2,200 to 8,120 feet [68,67] New Mexico 3,500 to 8,000 feet [114,125] New York (Adirondack Mtns.) 1,500 to 1,700 feet [101] Nevada 3,000 to 8,700 feet [87,111,112] Oregon 0 to 6,800 feet [76,97,75] Utah 3,700 to 10,500 feet [60,175] Washington 0 to 4,400 feet [76,38,75]
Invasive species: The nonnative tree species Russian-olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) has a detrimental effect on common spikerush. At Utah Lake, Utah, the frequency of common spikerush was significantly (p<0.05) lower on sites infested with Russian-olive than sites not infested [25]. In Colorado, common spikerush is associated with dense stands of Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) [41,156].
Salt marsh characteristics: In brackish marshes near the coast, common spikerush develops rather broad and soft culms with large spikelets and dark purple to black scales. Plants from the interior may have culms as broad as the maritime form or they may be rounder and firmer with scales that are much lighter in color [115]. Common spikerush is found in fresh, slightly brackish, moderately brackish, and brackish marshes in the Prairie Potholes of North Dakota. It is particularly prevalent in slightly and moderately brackish marshes [157].
Soils: Common spikerush is adapted to coarse and fine textured soils [166]. It is commonly found on fine sand and silt soils with high organic matter content [8,120]. It can withstand anaerobic soil conditions [166] and is found on heavy clays [10]. At Utah Lake, Utah, common spikerush is found on peat beds as deep as 30 inches (76 cm) [19].
Common spikerush is tolerant of alkaline soils [76,33,59,60,66,82,75]. In the Great Basin, common spikerush occurs widely on highly calcareous or alkaline soils associated with moist or wet native meadow communities [154]. Common spikerush has a pH tolerance of 4.0 to 8.0 [8,10,20,58,166].
In southern and eastern Idaho riparian areas, common spikerush is dominant on sites which are saturated or inundated with water for much of the growing season. Litter accumulation at some sites may blend into a rich, black, organic muck soil. Upper horizon soils are generally fine silts or clays which may be 39 inches (1 m) or more in depth and arising from alluvial deposition. Sands, gravels, and cobbles are the most likely constituents of deeper subsurface materials. Soil orders may be classified as Histosols, Mollisols, and occassionally Entisols [65], in both Idaho and Montana [68].
Brotherson [20] identified 5 vegetative zones surrounding Utah Lake, Utah. General soil factors and mineral nutrients (mean ± SD) of zone 5, where common spikerush is dominant with 47.94% cover are presented below:
Utah Lake Sand (%) 13.07±3.87 Silt (%) 48.33±2.89 Clay (%) 38.60±6.75 Organic matter (%) 32.70±16.81 pH 7.66±0.11 Soluble salts (ppm) 4,002.67±351.48 Soil moisture (%) 51.7±3.4 Nitrogen (%) 0.282±0.123 Phosphorus (%) 10.13±4.96 Calcium (ppm) 80,256.00±8,183.00 Magnesium (ppm) 685.33±110.37 Sodium (ppm) 1,122.67±304.56 Potassium (ppm) 576.00±227.82 Iron (ppm) 1.84±0.32 Manganese (ppm) 10.82±5.74 Zinc (ppm) 0.62±0.12 Copper (ppm) 2.49±0.68Soil measurements were taken on 219 sites were common spikerush occurs in wetlands of Nova Scotia and Ontario, Canada. Average soil factors in which common spikerush occurred are described below [58]:
Soil factor (mean±SD) Organic content (%) 5.88±0.26 Phosphorus (mg/kg) 6.56±0.14 Nitrate (mg/kg) 6.48±0.25 Potassium (mg/kg) 111.28±3.18 pH 6.38±0.04 Magnesium (mg/kg) 286.66±7.99Water table: Common spikerush is found from sea level to mid-elevations on seasonally to permanently flooded sites, often in moderate to wide valley bottoms with low gradients. Sites where common spikerush occurs are generally permanently flooded or seasonally flooded, with the water table dropping to 12 inches (30 cm) or less below the soil surface late in the season [82].
On the Middle Loup River, Nebraska, where common spikerush is dominant, it was only found on sites where the water table was between 0 to 12 inches (0-30 cm) from the soil surface [129].
Fluctuations in the water table of a marsh in Saskatchewan were measured over a 10-year period (1962-1971) to assess the effects of moisture regime changes on common spikerush monotypic stands. When the water table was within 24 inches (61 cm), no die-off of common spikerush occurred. However, as the water table dropped, common spikerush mortality increased [121].
Water table depth (inches) % common spikerush die-off < 24 0 24 to 30 7 30.1 to 36 20 36.1 to 42 20 > 42 53Common spikerush is of minimal importance to livestock [65]. In riparian areas, the seasonally wet conditions and low palatability of common spikerush limit its grazing value, even in years of drought where upland forage dries early and dies [65]. However, Kovalchik and Clausnitzer [98] suggests that in drought years common spikerush may be used more heavily than in nondrought years. Common spikerush does provide heavy forage for cattle in the California foothills in wet meadow swales [14].
Ungulates: In northwestern/southwestern Montana, common spikerush provides fair food for elk and mule deer, but poor food for whitetailed-deer and pronghorn [17,68].
Waterfowl/small mammals: Common spikerush is an important source of food for waterfowl. The seeds, stems, and rhizomes of common spikerush are an important food source for a variety of North American waterfowl, marsh, and shorebirds [113]. Common spikerush is described as a "good" source of food for waterfowl at Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, South Dakota [48]. Common spikerush is an important food source for a variety of duck species at Prince Albert District, Saskatchewan [55]. In northwestern/southwestern Montana, common spikerush provides poor food value for upland game, fair for small nongame birds and small mammals, and good food for waterfowl [17,68]. In the Potholes Area of eastern Washington, common spikerush plant material was identified in 40.0% of the stomachs of several duck species [71]. Common spikerush provides food for nutria in Louisiana [93] and Maryland [179] marshes. Common spikerush is a very minor food source for cottontail rabbits in Missouri [95].
Palatability/nutritional value: The palatability of common spikerush is low [82,166]. Boggs and others [17] and Hansen and others [68] list the palatability of common spikerush for cattle, domestic sheep, and horses in northwestern Montana as poor. The palatability of common spikerush is very low in Idaho and Montana riparian zones [65,66,68].
Common spikerush is listed as having fair energy value, but poor protein value in northwestern/southwestern Montana [17,68] and southern and eastern Idaho [65].
The nutritional content (% dry weight) of common spikerush at different life stages during 2 years at San Joaquin Experimental Range, California, are presented below [61]:
Year Life stage Ash Silica Silica-free ash Calcium P K Crude protein Crude fiber 1936 Just before flowering 10.78 2.43 8.35 0.598 0.310 3.16 18.22 25.80 Green, full bloom 13.38 7.81 5.57 0.432 0.192 2.59 8.87 27.19 Green, seeds mature 15.42 10.33 5.09 0.443 0.148 2.38 9.02 27.76 Dry, some seeds cast 17.26 12.33 4.93 0.742 0.158 2.43 5.03 32.42 1937 Green, in early bloom 12.41 5.68 6.73 0.388 0.328 2.98 15.84 27.12 Green, full bloom 14.0 8.28 5.72 0.291 0.192 2.83 8.17 30.87 Green, seeds mature, none cast 14.04 8.66 5.38 0.248 0.142 2.65 6.88 29.15Cover value: Common spikerush provides cover for a variety of waterfowl and small mammals. Stands of common spikerush are listed as "good" cover for waterfowl at Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, South Dakota [48]. Common spikerush communities along the Columbia River Hanford Reach section, Washington, support brood rearing habitat for Canada geese [69]. In northwestern/southwestern Montana, common spikerush provides fair cover for upland game birds, small nongame birds, and small mammals, and good cover for waterfowl [17,68]. Muskrat mounds are numerous in common spikerush dominated marshes at Huntingdon Marsh, Quebec [8]. Low marshy areas with common spikerush provide cover for the jumping mouse [137]. Ponds with abundant common spikerush located 6 miles (10 km) east of Moscow, Idaho, support the Pacific treefrog, northern long-toed salamander, western toad, and the spotted frog [148].
Common spikerush is a dominant species, usually occurring in monotypic stands,
in the following vegetation classifications:
United States:
AK:
Southeast shorelines/mudflat areas [1]
Copper River Delta [16]
AZ:
Babocomari Cienega [34]
CA:
Vernal pools [78]
Toiyabe National Forest (riparian zones) [112]
CO:
Moffat County [10]
Yampa River [120]
Green River [120]
IA:
North-central wet meadows [28]
ID:
Riparian zones throughout the east and south [65]
Riparian zones throughout the state [83]
Duck Lake [139]
KS:
High Plains and Smoky Hills [92,105]
LA:
Barataria Basin salt marsh [80]
MT:
Riparian and wetlands sites (NW part of state) [17]
Riparian and wetlands sites (SW part of state) [68]
Low to mid-elevation riparian zones throughout the state [66,67]
Sheep Mountain bog [72]
ND:
Prairie Potholes [157]
NE:
Platte and North Platte River [35]
Middle Loup River [129]
NM:
Upper and middle Rio Grande watershed [47]
Gila, Rio Grande, and Pecos basins [125]
NV:
Independence and Copper Ranges (ponds) [111]
Toiyabe National Forest (riparian zones) [112]
Humboldt National Forest (riparian zones) [112]
OK:
The panhandle and western part of state-wet areas [77]
OR:
Klamath Basin [26]
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge [32,183]
Trout Creek [49]
Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge [143]
UT:
Goshen Bay [154]
Utah Lake [19]
Riparian areas throughout the state [132]
WA:
Riparian and wetland sites (eastern part of state) [98]
WY:
Wet meadows [31]
Canada:
AB:
Wet meadows and coulee bottoms of shortgrass prairies [29]
Oxbow lakes (central part of province) [167]
ON:
Ottawa River [37]
PQ:
Huntingdon Marsh [8]
Ottawa River [173,37]
SK:
wet meadows and coulee bottoms of shortgrass prairies [29]
Canadian regions:
Prairie province salt marshes and salt meadows [109]
Common spikerush is a warm season species with rapid rhizomatous growth in mid- and late summer in aquatic locations [159,166]. Common spikerush begins blooming in late spring [61,94,166], begins seed production mid-summer [61,94], and ends flowering in late summer to early fall [76,123,127,140,75]. The flowering period for common spikerush in several states/regions is presented below:
State/Region Flowering Period California April to November [127] Illinois June to September [123] Nevada June to August [87] North Carolina July to September [140] South Carolina July to September [140] Texas May/June to October [39] West Virginia June to September [161] Adirondack Mountains June to August/September [101] Blue Ridge Mountains July to October [180] New England June to September [150] Northern Great Plains (aquatic and wetland zones) June to August [104] Pacific Northwest May to August [76,75] Baja California April to September [178]The phenology of common spikerush in 1936 and 1937 at San Joaquin Experimental Range, California, is presented below [61]:
Growth stage 1936 1937 Just before flowering 3 April---
Green, in early bloom---
8 April Green, full bloom 8 May 18 May Green, seeds mature 13 June---
Green, seeds mature, none cast---
14 June Dry, some seeds cast 10 September---
Common spikerush average height, growth stage, and average water table depth during 4 periods in 1985 and 1986 at the Central Grasslands Research Station, North Dakota, are presented below [94]:
Date Height (cm) Growth stage Water table depth (cm) Late spring (21 May-10 June) 21 Bloom 14 Early summer (21 June-11 July) 49 Bloom 7 Mid-summer (21 July-4 August) 52 Seed 9 Late summer (15 August-18 September) 48 Post-ripe 1Common spikerush reproduces vegetatively from rhizomes and by seeds [40]. The rhizomes of common spikerush grow rapidly in mid- and late summer in aquatic locations [159]. Common spikerush plants do not produce fruit until 2 or 3 years of age [159]. Seeds typically germinate in standing water mid-spring through early summer [40].
Pollination: Common spikerush is wind-pollinated [46,160].
Breeding system: Common spikerush has perfect flowers [40,104].
Seed production: Common spikerush produces a large number of seeds, though viability is low [173]. In "low-elevations," seeds ripen from July to August and rapidly disarticulate when mature [82].
Seed dispersal: The seeds of common spikerush are dispersed by water, mud, animals (particularly birds) [40,85], and wind [38]. At Mount St. Helens, Washington, common spikerush seeds are dispersed by wind in nonhydrologic environments [38]. One study suggests that seeds of common spikerush are transported and dispersed long distances from their place of origin in the gizzards of shorebirds and waterfowl [85].
Seed banking: Common spikerush utilizes a seed bank [134,30]. Soil samples taken at five 12-year old wetlands, created at a reclaimed southern Illinois surface coal mine, found the seeds of common spikerush at 3 of 5 wetlands. The density of common spikerush seeds at the 3 seed bank sites (# of seeds/m²) were 1363, 2705, and 3578, respectively [30]. In June 1980, 10ÃÂ10ÃÂ2 inch (30ÃÂ30ÃÂ5 cm) soil samples were taken from Delta Marsh, Manitoba. The soil samples were taken to a greenhouse and subjected to a drawdown (moist soil) and shallow-flooding (1 to 1.5 inch (2-3 cm) of standing water) treatment. After 3 months, counts were taken; 240 seeds germinated from the drawdown treatment and 34 seeds germinated from the shallow-flooding treatment [134].
Germination: Stratification of common spikerush seeds promotes germination. Buhler and others [21] found that recently harvested seeds subjected to a temperature/light regime of 9 hours in the dark at 59 °F (15 °C) and 15 hours of light at 68 °F (20 °C) produced a germination rate of 0%. Yet, when seeds were stratified at 41 °F (5 °C) the germination rate increased to 46%. Common spikerush seeds collected from eastern Ontario, southwestern Quebec, and southern Nova Scotia, Canada, during September and October 1988, and planted in a greenhouse had a very low germination rate. The seeds were stratified at 39 °F (4 °C) for 9 months then planted in pots on 13 July 1989. Thirty days later, the germination rate of common spikerush was 8% [153]. Seeds taken from the Ottawa River, Ontario, and planted in a greenhouse had a germination rate of 5% [173].
Seedling establishment/growth: Weiher and others [174] planted common spikerush seeds in an outdoor garden mimicking marsh conditions. While the germination rate was low (5%), after 5 years of growth the seeds that germinated were firmly established and thrived in the garden.
Asexual regeneration: Common spikerush ramets harvested from field sites in Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia were successfully grown in greenhouses by researchers at the University of Ottawa [89]. Common spikerush rhizomes were taken from wetlands of Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Ontario, Canada, and planted in a greenhouse garden to investigate homogeneous growth. The common spikerush rhizomes were planted in greenhouses within common spikerush only communities and within communities consisting of 45 wetland species in May 1991. In August 1991, the common spikerush plants were harvested in both communities and the aboveground biomass was oven dried. The mean weight (grams) of common spikerush was significantly (p
Common spikerush is shade intolerant [166] and thrives on disturbed sites [38,49,111,112,126,164,16]. It is primarily an early-seral species [8,38,65,91,111,112,118,151,16], but may be found on early, mid-, and late or "climax" successional sites [65,68,67,164].
It is found in primary successional wetlands on Mount St. Helens, Washington [38]. An analysis of vegetation 14 years following the eruption of Mount St. Helens, found common spikerush on primary and secondary successional substrate sites [164]. In the Copper River Delta of Alaska, common spikerush is an early seral species on uplifted tidal marshes (30 years after uplifting) and a primary successional species on newly uplifted tidal mudflats [16]. Common spikerush rapidly colonizes moist mineral surfaces adjacent to active stream channels following flooding disturbances in the Trout Creek Mountains of southeastern Oregon [49]. Common spikerush is described as an early-seral species on ponds with low anaerobic conditions in the Independence and Copper Ranges of the northeastern Great Basin, Nevada, and the Toiyabe and Humboldt National Forests of California and Nevada [111,112]. Medina [118] describes common spikerush as frequently occurring as a pioneer species on new streambanks, particularly in F-type stream channels (laterally unstable with high bank erosion and very high width/depth ratios caused by channel adjustments initiated by down-cutting). Common spikerush is found in early succession in 7 restored freshwater marshes in northern Indiana [91]. In 1988, 64 depressional farmed basins in northern Iowa, southern Minnesota, and southeastern North Dakota were restored to wetlands. On 15 to 19 of those sites, common spikerush was an early seral species [126].
As water levels rise in spring, common spikerush emerges as a dominant overstory species at the margin of marshes in Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, and Saskatchewan [8,151].
In southern and eastern Idaho common spikerush represents an early seral species on ponds and streambanks where water is at or above the ground surface. However, where dense growth of common spikerush is found on continually saturated soils it may represent a "climax" species given how difficult it is to displace [65]. In Montana riparian areas, common spikerush may be an early, mid-, or late seral species or a "climax" species [68,67].
Common spikerush has high erosion control potential in riparian and wetland areas [17,68,82,112,177].
From 15 to 25 March, 1994, 18 common spikerush wetland plugs were harvested from Haskell-Baker Wetlands, Kansas, using a 20-inch (50-cm) diameter tree spade and transplanted to Santa Fe Wetlands, Kansas. Survival rate of common spikerush plugs was over 90%. The mean area of common spikerush plugs in October 1994 was 7.19 feet² (0.67 m²) and increased annually to reach 86.6 foot² (8 m²) 3 years later. Common spikerush growth was significantly (p<0.05) greater on sites where the water table was 8.3 to 16 inches (21-40 cm) below soil surface [52].
Over 1 million acres (400,000 ha) of Kansas farmland is salt-affected. The Nature Conservancy has successfully used common spikerush to rehabilitate moist basins in the Cheyenne Bottoms of Kansas [92].
There is 1 common spikerush cultivar available ('Common') [165].
