Reed Bed

Reed beds are natural habitats found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reed beds are part of a succession from young reed colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As reed beds age, they build up a considerable litter layer which eventually rises above the water level, and ultimately provides opportunities for scrub or woodland invasion.

Reed beds vary in the species they can support, depending on water levels within the wetland system, climate, seasonal variations, and the nutrient status and salinity of the water. Those that normally have 20 cm or more of surface water during the summer are referred to as reed swamp. These often have high invertebrate and bird species use. Reed beds with water levels at or below the surface during the summer are often more complex botanically and are known as reed fen. Reeds and similar plants do not generally grow in very acidic water, and so in these situations reed beds are replaced by other vegetation such as poor-fen and bog.

Although common reed is characteristic of reed beds, not all vegetation dominated by this species is reed bed. It also occurs commonly in unmanaged damp grassland and as an understorey in certain types of damp woodland.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_bed - 11.12.2011