Canebrakes: An Ecological and Historical Perspective

Cane (Arundinaria gigantea (Walter) Muhl.) is found throughout the southeastern United States and forms monotypic stands known as canebrakes. Canebrake ecology has been largely ignored by contemporary workers and this paper is intended as a comprehensive review. Reproductive biology is poorly understood and various flowering cycles have been reported. Seed dispersal and seedling development remain largely unknown. Density estimates range as high as 160,000 culms/ha. Historic accounts suggest canebrakes were a dominant feature of the frontier landscape, particularly in alluvial habitats. Canebrakes developed under regimes of moderately intense disturbance, and probably originated when Indian agriculture was greatly curtailed following population declines caused by introduced European diseases. Subsequently, Indian burning practices maintained and expanded canebrakes by eliminating competing woody vegetation. Settlers valued canebrakes for livestock grazing and considered them indicative of fertile soils. Decline was rapid following settlement due to a combination of overgrazing, altered burning regimes, and landclearing. Large canebrakes are no longer extant and are not favored by current regimes of extreme disturbance.