Influence of some ecological factors on plant tall, cover percent and biomass of Phragmites australis in marshes of southern Iraq after inundation

Abstract EN

Common reed (Phragmites austral is (Cav.

) Trine Steud.

) is one of the widely distributed plant species on earth, and considered a highly biological and ecological valuable plant species.

P.

austral is of three Iraqi marshes (Huwaiza, Chebaish and East Hammar) after inundation was studied from 2006 to 2007.

Different main factors were studied for plant vegetation cover in the marshes included water depth, electrical conductivity (EC), nutrient content in sediment and direct human impact.

Significant differences in maximal aboveground biomass among the three marshes were observed, with positive correlation between increasing in water depth and nutrient content with plant tall, cover percent and biomass production.

The result showed that P.

austral is have acclimatization to deep water with phenotypic plasticity through allocating more resources to stem weight and also by producing taller stems.