Creating a reed bed

[Rhodes Family]

Hi there,

I have posted this in both “Wildlife Gardening” and “Wildflower, Plants and Trees” forums only because I’m not really sure what you would class this post as!

At our local pond, we would like to enrich its biodiversity. One possible project is to thicken and enlarge the reed bed that is currently thin and straggly at one end. I was wondering if anyone has any experience in creating and managing native reed beds. I need a little help on choosing the correct (native) reed and rush species to plant if this was to go ahead. So far I have thought of:

• Common Reed (Phragmites) – This would be the main “Body” of reeds.
• Bulrush (Typha minima) – Interlaces between the common reed...I know how easily bulrush can get out of hand!!
• Yellow Flag iris (Iris pseudacorus) – not so much reed, though I would like to “liven” up the marginals.

Are there any other possibilities or are any of the above not recommended to plant?

Regards, Alex

[Dogghound]

I would consider Phragmites australis to be the dominant component of these reed beds. I would avoid planting bulrush near the reedbed or yellow flag, maybe create seperate beds in other areas of the pond.

The key things to consider before encouraging a reedbed are will this actually benifit the pond? and will you be able to manage it?

Small reedbeds are good at absorbing run off i.e. at the end of a dyke leading into a pond however unless they are large they tend not to support large numbers of birds, mammals etc. Ideally you want to actually create a large area of reeds 1ha + even if this involves digging out a larger area, this will then attract breeding warblers etc.

It is always important to consider what changes you will have on the pond, ideally if you dont know already do a indepth botanical survey, bird survey, invertebrate survey, reptile & amphibian survey, mammal and make sure you wont be damaging existing habitat or species.

Can you get any photo's? Do you have any target species in mind? Can you describe the pond too? depth, size, known species, surrounding area etc.

[maccyd82]

Have you looked at pre-planted coir rolls or pallets? If you type this into a search engine you will get lots of info and perhaps the species these companies that supply them use.

[ceterach]

Hi Alex
You say that current growth "thin and straggly at one end" do you know why? Both Phragmites and Typha are robust growers when the conditions are suitable. Perhaps you should be checking that aspect first rather than just replanting.

All the best

[Rhodes Family]

Thanks everyone for the speed, and quality of your replies.

It seems, a lot of thought is needed into this and at our next meeting, our “Wildlife Group” shall have to discuss in great detail the pro’s and con’s of restoring this habitat. However, it is true to say that our pond is (by the sounds of it) not nearly large enough to benefit breeding warblers etc. It is a man-made pond, and the habitat code is wet woodland, so I suppose, this reed bed was introduced by someone who didn’t know what they were doing.

Therefore, I think it would be a better use of grant money to just plant some marginals, like sedges, and focus on other pressing matters, such as discarded fishing line and overgrowing laurels!

Once again, thank you.....Alex

[Adam Cheeseman]

Originally Posted by Rhodes Family

It seems, a lot of thought is needed into this and at our next meeting, our “Wildlife Group” shall have to discuss in great detail the pro’s and con’s of restoring this habitat. However, it is true to say that our pond is (by the sounds of it) not nearly large enough to benefit breeding warblers etc. It is a man-made pond, and the habitat code is wet woodland, so I suppose, this reed bed was introduced by someone who didn’t know what they were doing.

Hi Alex,

I sit on the London Reedbed Habitat Action Plan group. Whatever the reasoniong behind your intended expansion of the reedbed you should realise that as a habitat it is host to many invertebrate species particularly moths that have their larval stage inside the reed stems.
The reedbed is quite possibly self-seeded and quite appropriate and natural to be a fringe habitat to wet woodland (is it willow carr?)
How big an area are we talking about here. What is the depth of water (reed doesn't grow in water consistently over 2m deep)
Could the thin and straggly nature of the bed at one end be due to this area being its natural expansion zone. You should see horizontal runners,but not always.
If you can give us as much info as possible it would helpus offer more detailed advice.
If you godown the planting marginals route, you'll ned to ensure the plants are suitable for the habitat, soil type and are oflocal provenance as much as possible.

You can PM me if you wish

Cheers

Adam