[4][5] It has been widely planted and naturalised in the mild temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of both hemispheres, especially in the Mediterranean, California, the western Pacific and the Caribbean and is considered invasive in North America and Oceania.

[citation needed] A. donax flowers in late summer, bearing upright, feathery plumes 40 to 60 centimetres (16 to 24 in) long, that are usually seedless or with seeds that are rarely fertile.

[12] This vegetative propagation appears well adapted to floods, which may break up individual A. donax clumps, spreading the pieces, which may sprout and colonise downstream.

In the Mediterranean, where a temperate climate is characterized by warm and dry summer and mild winter, new shoots of giant reed emerge around March, growing rapidly in June and July and producing stems and leaves.

Giant reed behaves as an annual in Central Europe where soil temperatures are low, due to poor freeze tolerance of the rhizomes.

Carbon dioxide exchange rates are high compared to other C3 and C4 species; maximum CO2 uptake ranged from 19.8 to 36.7 μmol/s·m2 under natural conditions, depending on irradiance and leaf age.

[19] This sterility, which drastically limits genetic variability, is an obstacle for breeding programs which aim to increase the productivity and biomass quality for energy conversion.

Another study conducted in the Mediterranean area sampled giant reed from 80 different sites, and demonstrated low gene diversity in this region as well.

Arundo is a highly invasive plant in southwestern North American rivers, and its promotion as a biofuel in other regions is of great concern to environmental scientists and land managers.

[22] Arundo donax was introduced from the Mediterranean to California in the 1820s for roofing material and erosion control in drainage canals in the Los Angeles area.

A. donax stems and leaves contain a variety of harmful chemicals, including silica and various alkaloids, which protect it from most insect herbivores and deter wildlife from feeding on it.

A waterside plant community dominated by A. donax may also have reduced canopy shading of the in-stream habitat, which may result in increased water temperatures.

Other remedies like using mechanical force have also been employed, since outside its native range Arundo donax does not reproduce by seeds, so removing its root structure can be effective at controlling it.

[29] In New Zealand's northernmost region, Arundo donax crowds out native plants,[30] reduces wildlife habitat, contributes to higher fire frequency and intensity, and modifies river hydrology.

[31] Energy crops are plants which are produced with the express purpose of using their biomass energetically[32] and at the same time reduce carbon dioxide emission.

Biofuels derived from lignocellulosic plant material represent an important renewable energy alternative to transportation fossil fuels.

[33] Perennial rhizomatous grasses display several positive attributes as energy crops because of their high productivity, low (no) demand for nutrient inputs consequent to the recycling of nutrients by their rhizomes, exceptional soil carbon sequestration – 4X switchgrass, multiple products, adaptation to saline soils and saline water, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Several field studies have highlighted the beneficial effect of giant reed crop on the environment due to its minimal soil tillage, fertilizer and pesticide needs.

[6] According to historical records made by Snia Viscosa, giant reed was established on 6 300 ha in Torviscosa (Udine), reaching the average annual production of 35 t/ha.

[35] Today several screening studies on energy crops have been carried out by several universities in the US as well as in EU to evaluate and identify best management practices for maximizing biomass yields and assess environmental impacts.

In order to ensure good root stand and adequate contact with the soil, sufficient moisture is needed immediately after planting.

Due to its high growth rate and superior resource-capture capacity (light, water and nutrients), A. donax is not affected by weed competition from the second year.

[38] An excavator can be useful to dig out the rhizomes or alternatively a single late-season application of 3% glyphosate onto the foliar mass is efficient and effective with least hazardous to biota.

Arundo donax is a strong candidate for use as a renewable biofuel source because of its fast growth rate and its ability to grow in different soil types and climatic conditions.

[40] Studies in the European Union have identified A. donax as the most productive and lowest impact of all energy biomass crops (see FAIR REPORT E.U.

[43] Recently research was carried out to evaluate, in the same pedological and climatic conditions, the impact of three long-term (14 years) agricultural systems, continuous giant reed, natural grassland, and cropping sequence, on the organic-matter characteristics and microbial biomass size in soil.

[44] The study pointed out that a long term Giant reed cropping system, characterized by low tillage intensity, positively affect the amount and quality of soil organic matter.

[citation needed] This plant may have been used in combination with harmal (Peganum harmala) to create a brew similar to the South American ayahuasca, and may trace its roots to the Soma of lore.

In rural regions of Spain, for centuries there has existed a technique named cañizo, consisting of rectangles of approximately 2 by 1 meters of woven reeds to which clay or plaster could be added.

[46] A. donax is still the principal source material of reed makers for clarinets, saxophones, oboes, bassoons, bagpipes, and other woodwind instruments.