What Good is Rivercane?
Part One
TITLE: What Good is Rivercane? – Part One
AUTHOR: Hannah Harkness
SOURCE: National Park Service
COPYRIGHT: No protection is claimed in original U.S. Government works.
Rivercane: Our Native Bamboo
By Hannah Harkness, Science Communications Intern, National Capital Region Network (NCRN) Inventorying and Monitoring (IM)
Overview
Walking near a stream, you see something you think is a non-native bamboo. But take a closer look. Is it native? Odds are it’s not, but it’s wise to check. “Native bamboo” may sound like an oxymoron, but it's real. Most people call it rivercane.
Rivercane (genus Arundinaria) is a woody grass native to floodplains of the southeastern US, extending up into the National Capital Region (NCR). Once a wide-ranging species, rivercane provides important wildlife habitat and holds cultural significance to many Indigenous peoples.
A Woven Cultural History
Rivercane is an important material for basket making and other traditional tribal arts, and it appears on the Cherokee Nation’s list of Culturally Protected Species. Basket making is still performed in many communities but has become more challenging as rivercane populations have dwindled and become more fragmented.
In an effort to help restore rivercane populations, tribal nations and federal agencies are working together through partnerships in the southeast like the Rivercane Restoration Alliance to help incorporate Indigenous knowledge into rivercane conservation.
Historically, Indigenous peoples helped to foster rivercane ecosystems through the use of fire and other practices, which prevented forests from encroaching on grassy habitats.
Canebrake Habitat
Rivercane is one of four native North American woody grasses in the Arundinaria genus. The most common are rivercane (Arundinaria gigantea, aka giant rivercane or giant cane) and switchcane (Arundinaria tecta). Two other species are more geographically limited. Arundinaria appalachiana is limited to the southern Appalachian Mountains in dry or temperate habitats and Arundinaria alabamensis to northeastern Alabama.
Historically, rivercane could be found from New York down to Florida, and as far west as Ohio across to Texas. Rivercane now occupies only 2% of its former extent in the US. This perennial species can grow to over 20 feet tall and can typically be found in sunny areas along the banks of rivers and streams.
Dense clusters of rivercane are referred to as canebrakes. Canebrakes are valuable components of marshland systems that help protect water quality and prevent erosion by stabilizing soils along the banks of waterways. They also provide habitat for lots of wildlife including deer, reptiles, small rodents, and birds. The loss of historic canebrake habitat may have played arole in the extinction of Bachman’s warbler. Canebrakes were once nesting and breeding sites for these songbirds.
Rivercane reproduces by underground lateral spreading plant stems called rhizomes. This type of asexual reproduction means that patches of rivercane can be made up of plants that are genetically identical “clones”! The complex network of rivercane rhizomes helps to store large amounts of carbon and holds soil against erosion.
Protecting Rivercane
Rivercane populations survive in smaller and more infrequent fragmented patches than they used to. Urbanization, land conversions due to agriculture, and overgrazing from livestock have contributed to rivercane decline. The National Park Service (NPS) has long recognized the need for canebrake conservation, and more work will need to be done to help restore these unique habitats. This includes reducing pollution and human impact, and avoiding planting of nonnative bamboos and other nonnative plants that might overtake areas preferred by rivercane.
Rivercane has historically responded well in environments treated with fire, a common practice used by Indigenous communities. Canebrakesare fire-dependent ecosystems, and though rivercane itself is highly fireprone, it is adapted to fire by resprouting quickly from underground rhizomes.The careful use of prescribed fire could help to maintain rivercane populations and prevent colonization by invasive species.
In 2023, the US Forest Service co-hosted a meeting with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians along with many other Tribal communities called the Rivercane Gathering, to discuss rivercane. (The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians is one of three federally recognized Cherokee tribes in the United States). This meeting helped identify and address “knowledge gaps” in current approaches to rivercane restoration.
While rare in the NCR, rivercane is more common in the southeast. Several southeastern parks, including Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park in Georgia, are working to restore rivercane in its native wetlands. Indigenous knowledge will likely continue to play a pivotal role in helping to restore this vulnerable habitat.
Further Reading
- Anderson, K.M., and T. Oakes. 2012. USDA. Giant Cane.
- Farmer, Sarah. 2023. US Forest Service. Working With Tribes to Sustain a Cherished Plant.
- Griffith, Adam. 2023. N.C. Cooperative Extension. What is Rivercane and Why is it Important?
- Hendershott, A.J. 2002. Missouri Department of Conservation. Canebrakes: Missouri’s Bamboo Forests.
- NPS, Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park. 2021. Rivercane Restoration.
- Remsen, J.V. 1986. The Auk. Was Bachman’s Warbler a Bamboo Specialist?
- Smith, Kevin E. 2021. Tennessee Conservationist. Canebrakes on the Cumberland: A Thousand Year Story of a Vanishing Ecosystem.
- USDA. Fire Effects Information System: Arundinaria gigantea.
- West, L., Quan, A., Byram, J. 2023. Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy. Integrating rivercane as Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge into the Southeast Conservation Blueprint.