Assessment of aquatic and terrestrial reed (Phragmites australis) stands

A survey of recent publications shows that research on Phragmites australishas oftenapplied character because of the considerableecological and economic significance of the species.The main applications are water treatment, agriculture(food production or weed control) and natureconservation. In Europe, most research on natural reedstands has been motivated by reed die-back and effortstowards protection or restoration. Reed progressionand reed control have been the main concerns in otherparts of the world, and reed progression has alsoreceived increasing attention in Europe. While reeddie-back generally affects aquatic stands, progressioncan occur at both terrestrial and aquatic sites, andit can be desired (e.g. lake shore restoration)or unwanted (e.g. in species-rich fens ormarshes). Therefore, reed stands need to be assessedindividually to decide on management aims andappropriate methods. The varying status of Phragmites australisformed the background of the`European Reed Conference' held in Zürich/Switzerlandin October 1998. The seven contributions published inthis special issue are introduced with particularreference to differences between aquatic andterrestrial reed stands and to approaches used in theirassessment.