Review of Related Literature

Conceptual Literature
Properties of Cattail (Typha latifolia)
Typha is comprised of numerous species that are found throughout the
temperate, subtropical, and tropical zones of both hemispheres. T. latifolia is found in
abundance in the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, New Guinea, and Australia, as these
countries provide sufficient mud and water habitats for it to grow. T. latifolia grows in
a wide variety of wetland habitats. Niches include marshes, wet meadows, lakeshores,
roadside ditches, seacoast estuaries, pond margins, bogs or fens as well as rice paddies
(Grace and Harrison, 1986). Since the Philippines is a tropical country, marshes and
wet meadows were formed. As a result, the presence of T. latifolia was manifested in
some areas around Batangas.
Moreover, Typha latifolia rapidly colonizes exposed wet minerals soils, as it
produces an extremely high number of wind water-dispersed seeds (Rook, 2009).
Reproduced by seed and vegetatively by rhizomes. Vegetative reproduction occurs
through an extensive rhizomes system and is responsible for the maintenance and
expansion of existing stands. Sexual reproduction is via seed dispersal and seedling
establishment is responsible for the invasion of new areas. They can spread rapidly by
vegetative reproduction forming dense rhizome mats and litter. This has an impact on
species diversity by alteration of habitat. Dense Typha growth and litter may reduce
the opportunity for other plants to establish or survive. They rapidly close any open
water giving few opportunities for other plants to establish (Wesson and Waring
2008).
Cattails, on the other hand, can be a nuisance species, particularly in tiny
ponds. Since cattails have a huge rhizome system capable of rapidly spreading at
shallower water depths, they can readily intrude on a small body of water. Although
the majority of cattail species present in North America are natural, their growth can
become thick and out-compete other native plants, resulting in cattail monoculture.
Not only does monoculture restrict species diversity within a body of water, but it also
reduces potential open water habitat for other species. Even if cattail growth is
localized to a small pond’s shoreline if dense and completely around the pond, access
to the water is severely reduced for transient birds and wildlife, as well as for
recreational activities (Sliwoski, 2017).

Fire Resistance
According to an environmental blog written by Dr. Krus(2016), Cattails have
low conductivity to heat. Which can give an ability to resist high temperature and
because of its high resistance to heat, thus this material is hard to be used as a
firestarter also with its good acoustical and especially fire protection properties.
Therefore it cannot cause any fire incident or cause danger. According to the study of
Dr. M. Krus(2013), a typha board has extremely high strength and dynamic stability
despite a low thermal conductivity of 0.055 W/mK so that it is applicable to solve
static problems, for example, a 120 mm Board has an F120 and a 60 mm Board has
fire resistance class F60. Moreover, this innovative building material possesses a lot
of other positive properties. It also has high heat capacity (Heat protection in
Summertime) which is perfect for the heat insulation ability of the cattail for people
living in tropical islands. Fire alone was found to provide little or no cattail control.
Cattails are sometimes considered as a pest in foreign countries that's why they all
have their ways of how to deal them like burning them using fuels because fire alone
can't handle their fire resistance to extreme heat.

Moisture Resistance
According to Dr. M. Krus (2013), cattails are resistant to molds and are very
well equipped to deal with moisture. The leaves of the plant have a fiber-reinforced
supporting tissue that is filled up with a soft sponge tissue. Through this special
construction, they are extraordinarily stable and possess an excellent insulating effect.
In addition, according to the study entitled A feasibility study on the usage of cattail
(Typha spp.) for the production of insulation materials and bio-adhesives by Colbers
B. , Cornelis S. et al (2017), Cattail has proven to have lower water absorption values
compared to wheat straw when used for particle boards (Bajwa et al., 2015), meaning
less additives may be needed for cattail-based insulation materials than for other bio-
based insulations. In a research of the Estonian University of Tartu, Institute of
Ecology and Earth Sciences, the moisture absorption of pure clay-sand plaster is
compared to the moisture absorption of clay-sand plaster mixed with a variable
amount of fluffy material and shredded cattail. These results show that a mix of clay-
sand with fluffy material and shredded material with the ratio of 2:1 has better water
resistant properties than when it is not mixed, absorbing 11.0 g/m2 of moisture.

Typha Latifolia (broadleaf Cattail). (n.d.). Typha latifolia (broadleaf cattail).

https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/54297.
Www.upane.it, U. -. (n.d.). GISD. GISD. http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?
sc=895.
Issg Database: Impact Information for Typha Latifolia. (n.d.). issg Database: Impact
Information for Typha latifolia. http://issg.org/database/species/impact_info.asp?
si=895&fr=1&sts=&lang=EN.
Are Cattails Good Or Bad? How Can They Be Successfully Managed?. (2018,
February 15). SOLitude Lake Management: Full-Service Lake And Pond
Management. https://www.solitudelakemanagement.com/blog/cattails-good-bad-
successfully-managed/.
Dr. Krus, M. (2013, June 03). Using Cattail for Insulation. Science Daily.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130603091730.htm.
Colbers, B., Cornelis, S., Geraets, E., Gutiérrez-Valdés, N., Tran, L., Moreno-
Giménez , E., & Ramírez-Gaona, M. (2017). A Feasibility Study On the Usage Of
Cattail (Typha Spp.) for the Production Of Insulation Materials And Bio-adhesives.
https://edepot.wur.nl/429929.