# Reed bed

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{{Short description|Habitats formed by reed colonies in floodplains and estuaries}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2012}}
thumb|A reedbed in summer
thumb|Reedbed in winter

A '''reedbed''' or '''reed bed''' is a natural [habitat](/source/habitat) found in [floodplain](/source/floodplain)s, waterlogged depressions and 
[estuaries](/source/estuary). Reedbeds are part of a [succession](/source/Ecological_succession) from young [reeds](/source/Reed_(plant)) colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As reedbeds age, they build up a considerable [litter layer](/source/Plant_litter) that eventually rises above the water level and that ultimately provides opportunities in the form of new areas for larger terrestrial plants such as [shrub](/source/shrub)s and [tree](/source/tree)s to colonise.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wwt.org.uk/discover-wetlands/wetlands/reedbeds |title=Reedbeds and their wildlife |website= [Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust](/source/Wildfowl_%26_Wetlands_Trust) |language=en |date= 6 January 2022}}</ref>

Artificial reedbeds are used to remove pollutants from [greywater](/source/greywater), and are also called [constructed wetlands](/source/Constructed_wetland).<ref>[http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijeco/2012/324295/ Does Botanical Diversity in Sewage Treatment Reed Beds Enhance Invertebrate Diversity?]</ref>

==Types==
Reedbeds vary in the species that they can support, depending upon water levels within the wetland system, climate, seasonal variations, and the nutrient status and salinity of the water. ''Reed swamps'' have 20 cm or more of surface water during the summer and often have high invertebrate and bird species use.  ''Reed fens'' have water levels at or below the surface during the summer and are often more botanically complex. Reeds and similar plants do not generally grow in very acidic water. In these situations, reedbeds are replaced by [bog](/source/bog)s and vegetation such as [poor fen](/source/poor_fen).

Although [common reed](/source/common_reed)s are characteristic of reedbeds, not all vegetation dominated by this species is characteristic of reedbeds.  It also commonly occurs in unmanaged, damp [grassland](/source/grassland) and as an [understorey](/source/understorey) in certain types of damp [woodland](/source/woodland).

==Wildlife==
thumb|500px|A previously sandy shore colonised by reeds forming a reedbed.
Most [Europe](/source/Europe)an reedbeds mainly comprise common reed (''[Phragmites australis](/source/Phragmites_australis)'') but also include many other tall [monocotyledon](/source/monocotyledon)s adapted to growing in wet conditions &ndash; other grasses such as reed sweet-grass (''[Glyceria maxima](/source/Glyceria_maxima)''), Canary reed-grass (''[Phalaris arundinacea](/source/Phalaris_arundinacea)'') and small-reed (''[Calamagrostis](/source/Calamagrostis)'' [species](/source/species)), large sedges (species of ''[Carex](/source/Carex)'', ''[Scirpus](/source/Scirpus)'', ''[Schoenoplectus](/source/Schoenoplectus)'', ''[Cladium](/source/Cladium)'' and related [genera](/source/Genus)), yellow flag iris (''[Iris pseudacorus](/source/Iris_pseudacorus)''), reed-mace ("bulrush" &ndash; ''[Typha](/source/Typha)'' species), water-plantains (''[Alisma](/source/Alisma)'' species), and flowering rush (''[Butomus umbellatus](/source/Butomus_umbellatus)'').  Many [dicotyledon](/source/dicotyledon)s also occur, such as water mint (''[Mentha aquatica](/source/Mentha_aquatica)''), gipsywort (''[Lycopus europaeus](/source/Lycopus_europaeus)''), skull-cap (''[Scutellaria](/source/Scutellaria)'' species), touch-me-not balsam (''[Impatiens noli-tangere](/source/Impatiens_noli-tangere)''), brooklime (''[Veronica beccabunga](/source/Veronica_beccabunga)'') and water forget-me-nots (''[Myosotis](/source/Myosotis)'' species).

Many animals are adapted to living in and around reedbeds.  These include mammals such as [Eurasian otter](/source/Eurasian_otter), [European beaver](/source/European_beaver), [water vole](/source/Arvicola), [Eurasian harvest mouse](/source/Eurasian_harvest_mouse) and [water shrew](/source/Neomys), and birds such as [great bittern](/source/great_bittern), [purple heron](/source/purple_heron), [European spoonbill](/source/European_spoonbill), [water rail](/source/water_rail) (and other [rail](/source/Rallidae)s), [purple gallinule](/source/purple_swamphen), [marsh harrier](/source/marsh_harrier), various [warbler](/source/Old_World_warbler)s ([reed warbler](/source/reed_warbler), [sedge warbler](/source/sedge_warbler) etc.),  [bearded reedling](/source/bearded_reedling) and [reed bunting](/source/reed_bunting).

==Uses==
===Constructed wetlands===
{{Main article|Constructed wetlands}}
Constructed wetlands are artificial swamps (sometimes called ''reed fields'') using reed or other marshland plants to form part of small-scale [sewage](/source/sewage) treatment systems. [Water](/source/Water) trickling through the reedbed is cleaned by [microorganism](/source/microorganism)s living on the root system and in the litter. These organisms utilize the sewage for growth [nutrient](/source/nutrient)s, resulting in a clean [effluent](/source/effluent). The process is very similar to aerobic conventional sewage treatment, as the same organisms are used, except that conventional treatment systems require artificial aeration.
===Treatment ponds===
[[Image:Harchies RN1gJPG.jpg|thumb|Reedbed of Harchies ponds ([Belgium](/source/Belgium))]]
{{Main article|Treatment pond}}
Treatment ponds are small versions of constructed wetlands which uses reedbeds or other marshland plants to form an even smaller [water treatment system](/source/greywater_treatment). Similar to constructed wetlands, water trickling through the reedbed is cleaned by [microorganism](/source/microorganism)s living on the root system and in the litter. Treatment ponds are used for the water treatment of a single house or a small neighbourhood.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Svyatoshyn ponds5.JPG|Reedbed of ''[Phragmites australis](/source/Phragmites_australis)'' and ''[Carex acutiformis](/source/Carex_acutiformis)''
D-Lindau-NSG Reutiner Bucht.JPG|Reedbed of ''[Phragmites australis](/source/Phragmites_australis)'' and ''[Typha latifolia](/source/Typha_latifolia)''
File:Miscanthus sp.JPG|Reedbed of ''[Miscanthus](/source/Miscanthus)''
Arundo donax 2007 (cropped).JPG|Reedbed of ''[Arundo donax](/source/Arundo_donax)''
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Wetlands}}
* [Organisms used in water purification](/source/Organisms_used_in_water_purification)
* [South Milton Ley](/source/South_Milton_Ley)

==References==
{{Commons category|Reedbeds}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Wetlands}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:Ecology

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Reed bed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_bed) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_bed?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.