United States Department of Transportation
i
Desirables and Weeds for Roadside Management – a Northern Rocky Mountain Catalogue
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1997-12-01
[PDF-11.33 MB]
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Abstract:The roadside flora of Montana and adjacent North Dakota were examined with the objective of identifying common plants which might be used in new plantings (desirables) or managed against (weeds). Of 211 species found, 50 were common in at least one environmental type. Of these, 29 were natives and 21 were exotics. Great caution is recommended with broadening the dispersal of exotics. Tables in Part I of this report list both species performing well in major environmental types and those sensitive to particular factors. Two tables (6 and 7) identify plants - desirables and exotics - likely to succeed in the five environmental zones (ETs) most Montana highways traverse. The ETs are identified by the natural vegetation that would occupy them "at climax" and a map locates those zones. The ETs are dry grassland environments, moist grassland environments which are warmer or cooler, low forest environments, and high forest environments. Table 6 is useful for selecting species for planting in a region. Table 7 indicates zones in which common exotics are most likely to spread from plantings into native vegetation. Table 8 summarizes the site preferences of the 50 species with respect to levels of ten environmental factors likely to influence them, rather than ET. The factors considered relate to water availability (precipitation, soil water holding capacity, soil sand/clay content), temperature (July average, slope, and aspect), fertility (organic matter and pH) and salinity. Table 8 will be especially useful in selecting species for extreme sites. Part II of the report complements Tables 6, 7, and 8 by characterizing species rather than environments. It tells how each species behaves: ETs it grows in, factor extremes it tolerates, the form it will take, and its tendency to invade.
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