crowds out more desirable plant species (Ward, 1942). Figure 31 shows a 

 successful planting for erosion control. In the Great Lakes, common reed is 

 the most promising plant for erosion control (Woodhouse, 1979). 



Figure 31. Erosion control planting with common reed, CERC 

 Field Research Facility, Duck, North Carolina. 



a. Planting Techniques . Hand or machine plant, upright, leaving a few 

 centimeters exposed. Plant only when soil is moist. 



b. Soil and Salinity. Common reed may be planted in either coarse- or 

 fine-grained sediments and will withstand salinities up to about 20 parts per 

 thousand (U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, 1978). 



c. Planting Zone . Will withstand drought but requires shallow flooding 

 in spring (U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, 1978). Will not 

 tolerate permanent flooding of depths greater than 15 centimeters (Ward, 

 1942). 



d. Planting Density . 0.5-meter spacing. 



e. Planting Width. 6.0 meters. 



f . Planting Date . Spring . 



g. Fertilization Requirements . 0.3 to 0.5 kilonewtons of nitrogen (N) 

 and phosphate (P2O5) per hectare from soluble sources 2 to 4 weeks after 

 planting. Fertilization will seldom be warranted because of common reed's 

 agressive nature. 



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