More info for the terms: cover, frequency, fresh, litter, marsh, peat, tree
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 Â38 °F to Â44 °F (Â39 °C to Â42 °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 ± s) 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±0.68
Soil 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 (x±s x) 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±7.99
Water 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 53