TRB Pubsindex
Text Size:
x

« Prev Next »

Return to Results | New Search

Bookmark and Share

Title:

ROADSIDE WILDFLOWER MEADOWS: SUMMARY OF BENEFITS AND GUIDELINES TO SUCCESSFUL ESTABLISHMENT AND MANAGEMENT

Accession Number:

00624769

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Find a library where document is available


Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309052025

Abstract:

For the past 4 years, research has been conducted to refine the state of knowledge about the establishment and management of herbaceous meadows for highway landscapes in Massachusetts. As alternatives to turfgrass, meadows can provide three principal types of benefits: (a) ecological benefits derived from a more diverse self-sustaining planting without a reliance on agrichemicals and mowing, (b) economic benefits through dramatic reductions in mowing, and (c) aesthetic improvements resulting from a diverse planting of indigenous flowers and grasses. A split-block replicate experimental planting was installed in 1989 to test the effects of three tillage treatments, three fertilizer treatments, and two postemergent herbicide treatments. Two years of field observations on species diversity and plant density found that tilling permitted better establishment of wildflowers than not tilling; preemergent treatments showed a significant decrease in invasive grasses and an increase in wildflowers; fertilization did not improve the growth of wildflowers, grasses, or broadleaved weeds; and the monocot-specific herbicide was effective in controlling invasive grasses. The research documented that the primary obstacle to successful wildflower establishment is the spread of opportunistic turf-forming grasses and broadleaved weeds. This experiment has led to revised site preparation and establishment specifications to help maintain successful, self-sustaining meadows for highway landscapes.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1334, Maintenance of Pavements, Lane Markings, and Roadsides. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

Monograph Accession #:

01407208

Language:

English

Authors:

Ahern, Jack
Niedner, Cindy Ann
Barker, Allen

Pagination:

p. 46-53

Publication Date:

1992

Serial:

Transportation Research Record

Issue Number: 1334
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
ISSN: 0361-1981

ISBN:

0309052025

Features:

Figures (7) ; References (15) ; Tables (4)

Old TRIS Terms:

Subject Areas:

Administration and Management; Design; Economics; Environment; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; I20: Design and Planning of Transport Infrastructure; I60: Maintenance

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Aug 5 1993 12:00AM

More Articles from this Serial Issue: