use along highway right of way.

Details

• Creators:
  Engelhardt, Katharina A M ; Hawkins, Kara
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Appalachian Laboratory
• Corporate Contributors:
  Maryland. State Highway Administration. Office of Policy & Research
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Grasses
  • Right of way (Land)
  • Access control (Transportation)
  • Roadside flora
  • Turf Turfgrasses
  • Ecosystems
  • Environmental
  • quality
• Publication/ Report Number:
  MD-16-SHA-UMCES-6-3
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Maryland
• Corporate Publisher:
  Maryland. State Highway Administration. Office of Policy & Research
• Abstract:
  Katharina, A. M. Engelhardt orcid.org/0000-0002-9185-4292 ; Roadsides are managed as mowed turfgrass to prevent erosion, maintain visibility, provide a safety zone ; for stopped vehicles, and improve aesthetics. Roadside vegetation often needs to be mowed several times ; each growing season, and in addition to its cost mowing exposes workers to traffic and other hazards, ; discharges tailpipe gases, and disturbs soil. This study explored the efficacy of using commerciallyavailable ; grass species that may reduce maintenance costs, yet still provide economic and ecological ; services such as fast establishment, erosion control, ecosystem benefits, and resilience. A literature review ; of over 500 journal articles, white papers, reports, and fact sheets and discussions with turfgrass experts ; produced a list of over 100 graminoid species. A trait-based approach was then used to select a subset of ; species for evaluation. The final selection included 21 species and cultivars. Each species was given an ; overall grade (A=Excellent, B=Good, C=Fair, D=Poor, and F=Very poor) reflecting six economic and ; ecological services. Maryland's standard roadside seed tall fescue received a grade below the median grade. ; Fine fescues ranked higher than tall fescue owing to lower stature and generally higher resilience. The ; native grass species Sporobolus, side-oats grama, and purple lovegrass received excellent grades (A or A-) ; and should be further studied as alternatives to tall fescue. Species that are not recommended for roadsides ; include Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, prairie junegrass, alkaligrass, and zoysia.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  SP509B4E
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/31559/dot_31559_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 10.53 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:dcf30c3db847c0e76969a88ea70c69c7e24a328bcb454df5e9dbee6812b0f84c464915aaad24a357dd166d5b6c3ced64b8a0e9c28dd5c7466c9246259d13e781