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The growth characteristics and nutritional status ofSchoenoplectus tabernaemontani (C.C. Gmelin)Palla (soft-stem bulrush or lake clubrush) wereinvestigated during the second and third growthseasons in four equivalent subsurface-flow, gravel-bedconstructed treatment wetlands. Each wetland wassupplied with a different hydraulic loading rate ofagricultural wastewater, covering the range commonlyapplied to such systems. Harvest and demographictechniques were combined to determine seasonalpatterns and gradients of growth and nutrientallocation, and net annual primary productivity(NAPP). Marked seasonal patterns of early springemergence, summer growth and autumn senescence wereobserved, with little over-wintering of liveabove-ground biomass. Starch, the dominant long-termstorage substance, comprised ∼20% of rhizome dryweight (DW) in autumn. Mobilization during springreduced …