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Autecology Of The Black Needlerush Juncus Roemerianus, Lionel N. Eleuterius

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Juncus roemerianus generally occupies the upper half of the intertidal plane and covers about 92% or 25,000 hectares of marsh in Mississippi. The vegetative canopy is best described as a series of disjunct and intergrading populations. Considerable phenotypic variation and differences in standing crop exist between populations. J. roemerianus has very wide environmental tolerances in comparison to all other tidal marsh angiosperms. Soil types inhabited by the rush range from very sandy to highly organic muds and peats, which may vary in the concentration of nutrient elements (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium). Neither soil type, nutrient concentration, water content, pH nor …