Improving the performance of roadside vegetation.

Details

• Creators:
  Dudley, Megan M. ; Jacobi, William R. ; Brown, Cynthia. S.
• Corporate Creators:
  Colorado. DTD Applied Research and Innovation Branch
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Deicing Chemicals Deicing Chemicals--Environmental Aspects--Colorado Environmental Impacts Roadside Flora And Fauna Roadside Improvement--Colorado Roadside Plants--Effect Of Magnesium On--Colorado
• Publication/ Report Number:
  CDOT-2011-2
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Colorado
• Edition:
  Final; 7/7/08 to 12/31/2010.
• Corporate Publisher:
  Colorado. DTD Applied Research and Innovation Branch
• Abstract:
  Vegetation along roadways can be aesthetically pleasing and helps to stabilize the soil, which reduces wind-blown soil
  
  and soil erosion. While products containing chloride salts have proven to be very effective in helping to provide safe road
  
  surfaces, the accumulation of these products in roadside soils may create conditions unsuitable for the growth of some
  
  plant species. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a magnesium chloride–based deicer, a sodium
  
  chloride-based deicer, and the major salts contained in these deicers on seed germination and seedling growth and
  
  development of fifteen species of grasses and forbs native to Colorado. Seven of the fifteen species performed well at the
  
  low and medium concentrations of the salts and solutions; these are plants that can likely germinate in roadside areas.
  
  An increase in the concentration of chloride or sodium ions, or both, was related to a greater impact on the proportions of
  
  normal and abnormal seeds and seedlings. A few species were more negatively impacted by a particular salt type or
  
  formulation. Eight of the fifteen species tested had too few plant counts at either field site or in different soils and
  
  treatments to conduct individual data analysis on the impact of salt treatments. Salt treatments had no impact on the
  
  average numbers of plants for the remaining seven species, except the two fescue species, which were negatively
  
  impacted by high concentrations of salt treatments in topsoil. In general, all species had more plants and greater growth
  
  on topsoil than sand, and sand was better than gravel. The salt concentrations in the field plantings were diluted by
  
  precipitation during the study so the impacts were probably less than what would be seen with consistently high
  
  concentrations.
  
  Implementation:
  
  Using species with the highest germination rate provides the best opportunity for establishing plants along highways
  
  treated with deicing products. If possible, planting should be done in the fall and the soil should be amended to promote
  
  plant growth. Future studies should quantify conditions of vegetation along highways so that spatial relationships of
  
  highway maintenance, site factors, vegetation types, and metrological factors can be assessed.
  
  
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  41.71
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:aad6aa43f72b86b75c960a7e407bf2c2155f0adc33f88a703e404fb0f7552c6d
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/18577/dot_18577_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 769.54 KB ]