In North America, Phragmites australis (common reed) has generally been regarded as a weed to be controlled. This paper shows that Phragmites-dominated vegetation provides important non-habitat ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration, water quality maintenance) in proportion to its biomass, and many habitat functions for other organisms that vary depending on characteristics of the vegetation and surrounding landscape. Phragmites has both detrimental and beneficial functions; therefore decision-makers must clarify their management goals and understand the local situation. Extensive dense Phragmites may be managed to optimize ecosystem services by partial removal of biomass for a bioenergy feedstock.

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High-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (HVHHF) for mining natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shales is widespread in Pennsylvania and potentially throughout approximately 280,000 km(2) of the Appalachian Basin. Physical and chemical impacts of HVHHF include pollution by toxic synthetic chemicals, salt, and radionuclides, landscape fragmentation by wellpads, pipelines, and roads, alteration of stream and wetland hydrology, and increased truck traffic. Despite concerns about human health, there has been little study of the impacts on habitats and biota. Taxa and guilds potentially sensitive to HVHHF impacts include freshwater organisms (e.g., brook trout, freshwater mussels), fragmentation-sensitive biota (e.g., forest-interior breeding birds, forest orchids), and species with restricted geographic ranges (e.g., Wehrle's salamander, tongue-tied minnow). Impacts are potentially serious due to the rapid development of HVHHF over a large region.

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