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Wigeongrass (Ruppia maritima L.):
A Literature Review


Economics

I have not tried to estimate the economic value of wigeongrass, but the figure must be great when one considers that wigeongrass-dominated communities receive extensive use by aquatic animals important in commerce and sport. Warme (1971 in Eilers 1975) found that wigeongrass stands in coastal lagoons dampen incoming waves and collect sediment and floating debris. A small additional economic value can be inferred from Davis (1978), who noted that wigeongrass and its associated algal community traps silt and helps seal the bottoms of solar evaporators, thus making the salt recovery operation slightly more efficient.

Wigeongrass apparently is not a great economic problem. The plant does not seriously clog irrigation or mosquito control ditches or greatly degrade fishponds or swimming areas as do many other submersed macrophytes. Plants sometimes hinder boat traffic (Carl 1937; McMahan 1969), however, or are a temporary nuisance at beaches when washed ashore in large quantities (Conover 1958; Haag and Noton 1981b).

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