Restoring Native Vegetation to an Urban Wet Meadow Dominated by Reed Canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) in Wisconsin

The perennial grass Phalaris arundinacea (reed canarygrass) is a widespread invader of North American wetlands. We asked if the use of herbicide with burning, clipping, or seeding could reduce the cover of P. arundinacea and increase cover of native species in a wet prairie that receives stormwater runoff. Two glyphosate treatments decreased P arundinacea cover, and spring seeding of 33 native species doubled species richness and floristic quality compared to no seeding. Despite an initial decrease in abundance, P. arundinacea cover was no different than control plots two years after seeding and overall native species richness and cover decreased from the previous year. Application of the grass-specific herbicide sethoxydim in the third year of the study reduced P. arundinacea cover and height while allowing native forbs and graminoids to persist. Most of the 75 species identified during the study were perennial, native forbs, and most of the sown species that commonly established in the field had high germination rates in the laboratory. Continued management of P. arundinacea is needed to maintain desirable native wetland flora.