Phragmites australis, a wetland grass that is important for stabilizing the Louisiana coastline, has been undergoing a major die-off over the past five years. This die-off event is contributing to land loss along the Louisiana coastline, which is threatening ecosystems and commercial infrastructure critical for the function of the Mississippi River Delta. The Phragmites die-off is a multi-faceted problem and the invasive scale insect, Nipponaclerda biwakoensis, and microbial community are suspected to be the central causes of the die-off. Furthermore, there are different lineages of Phragmites – invasive European, introduced Delta, and introduced Gulf – that exhibit a gradient of resistance to susceptibility against the impacts from the scale insect and soil microbes and thus demonstrate differences in mortality. We used a full factorial design where we manipulated soil type from healthy and die-off soils and the presence or absence of the scale insect from three different populations of Phragmites within each of the three lineages – European, Delta, and Gulf. We quantified the volatiles to determine the degree to which soil, scales, and lineage influence plant odors. Results show important differences in volatile compounds, and these were associated with soil type and insect inoculation. Overall, these results will contribute to our understanding of how Phragmites is responding to above-ground biotic and below-ground soil interactions and will expand our understanding of plant traits that are resistant to die-off in certain lineages.

Chemical landscape of Phragmites australis

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