Die Bodenkultur - Journal for Land Management, Food and Environment

K.-G. Bernhardt, M. Koch, M. Spitzer und K.-F. Schreiber:

Lack off reed colonization after river dislocation near Bremen (Germany)

Summary

After the dislocation of the river Ochtum in Bremen, the new river banks and shallow water areas were replanted with reed. But the re-vegetation efforts were not very successful: Five years after re-vegetation, the river banks bore hardly any vegetation. In the course of additional scientific monitoring, the re-vegetation potential of macrophytes especially Phragmites australis was studied. We aimed to assess the size and composition of the soil seed bank, the quality and quantity of imported diaspores, and their ability to establish reed species. A marked difference between the diaspore community of the new river banks and the flood basins was found. The input of reed species into the seed bank was low and reed macrophytes could not establish very successfully. After the dislocation of the river Ochtum actual vegetation as well as a seed bank pool of reed species were missing and colonization could not take place from within the side. Keywords: plant colonization, Phragmites australis, re-vegetation, river-dislocation, soil seed bank.