Studies on invasive plant management are often short in duration and limited in the methods tested, and lack an adequate description of plant communities that replace the invader following removal. Here we present a comprehensive review of management studies on a single species, in an effort to elucidate future directions for research in invasive plant management. We reviewed the literature on Phragmites management in North America in an effort to synthesize our understanding of management efforts, identify gaps in knowledge and improve the efficacy of management. Additionally, we assessed recent ecological findings concerning Phragmites mechanisms of invasion and integrated these findings into our recommendations for more effective management. Our overall goal is to examine whether or not current management approaches can be improved and whether they promote reestablishment of native plant communities. We found: (i) little information on community-level recovery of vegetation following removal of Phragmites; and (ii) most management approaches focus on the removal of Phragmites from individual stands or groups of stands over a relatively small area. With a few exceptions, recovery studies did not monitor vegetation for substantial durations, thus limiting adequate evaluation of the recovery trajectory. We also found that none of the recovery studies were conducted in a landscape context, even though it is now well documented that land-use patterns on adjacent habitats influence the structure and function of wetlands, including the expansion of Phragmites. We suggest that Phragmites management needs to shift to watershed-scale efforts in coastal regions, or larger management units inland. In addition, management efforts should focus on restoring native plant communities, rather than simply eradicating Phragmites stands. Wetlands and watersheds should be prioritized to identify ecosystems that would benefit most from Phragmites management and those where the negative impact of management would be minimal.

Summary: 1. Over the last century, native Phragmites australis lineages have been almost completely replaced along the North American Atlantic coast by an aggressive lineage originating from Eurasia. Understanding the mechanisms that facilitate biological invasions is critical to better understand what makes an invasive species successful. 2. Our objective was to determine what makes the introduced lineage so successful in the study area by specifically investigating if morphological and ecophysiological differences exist between native and introduced genetic lineages of P. australis. We hypothesized a priori that due to phenotypic differences and differences in plant nitrogen (N) content between lineages, the introduced lineage would have a greater photosynthetic potential. 3. In situ ecophysiological and morphological data were collected for 2 years in a mid‐Atlantic tidal marsh and in a glasshouse experiment. We measured photosynthetic parameters (A_max, water use efficiency, stomatal conductance) using infrared gas analysis, in conjunction with ecophysiological and morphological parameters [specific leaf area (SLA), leaf area, chlorophyll content, N content]. 4. Introduced P. australis maintained 51% greater rates of photosynthesis and up to 100% greater rates of stomatal conductance which are magnified by its 38–83% greater photosynthetic canopy compared to the native type. The introduced lineage also had a significantly greater SLA and N content. Glasshouse‐grown plants and naturally occurring populations demonstrated similar trends in ecophysiological characteristics, verifying the heritability of these differences. These ecophysiological differences, when combined with an extended growing season, provide the mechanism to explain the success of introduced P. australis in North America. 5. Our findings suggest the native type is a low‐nutrient specialist, with a more efficient photosynthetic mechanisms and lower N demand, whereas the introduced type requires nearly four times more N than the native type to be an effective competitor. 6. Synthesis. Our study is the first to combine field and laboratory data to explain a biological invasion attributed to ecophysiological differences between genetic lineages. Our data corroborates earlier work suggesting anthropogenic modification of wetland environments has provided the state change necessary for the success of introduced P. australis. Finally, our results suggest that genotypic differences within species merit further investigations, especially when related to biological invasions.