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IDAHO TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT TRANSPORTATION IDAHO RP 217 Native Plants for Roadside Revegetation: Field Evaluations and Best Practices Identification RESEARCH REPORT RESEARCH By Robert Ament Western Transportation Institute (WTI) – Montana State University Monica Pokorny and Stuart Jennings KC Harvey Environmental, LLC Dr. Jane Mangold and Noelle Orloff Montana State University Prepared for Idaho Transportation Department Research Program Division of Highways, Resource Center http://itd.idaho.gov/highways/research/ February 2014 Standard Disclaimer This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Idaho Transportation Department and the United States Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The State of Idaho and the United States Government assume no liability of its contents or use thereof. The contents of this report reflect the view of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Idaho Transportation Department or the United States Department of Transportation. The State of Idaho and the United States Government do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear herein only because they are considered essential to the object of this document. This report does not constitute a standard, specification or regulation. 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. FHWA-ID-14-217 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Native Plants for Roadside Revegetation: Field Evaluations and Best Practices February 2014 Identification 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Robert J. Ament, Principal Investigator, Western Transportation Institute Monica L. Pokorny, Co-Principal Investigator, KC Harvey Environmental Inc. Jane M. Mangold, Co-Principal Investigator, KC Harvey Environmental Inc. L. Noelle Orloff, Co-Principal Investigator, Montana State University Stuart R. Jennings, Co-Principal Investigator, Montana State University 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Western Transportation Institute (WTI) Montana State University 11. Contract or Grant No. PO Box 174250 RP 217 Bozeman, MT 59717-4250 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Idaho Transportation Department Final Report Division of Highways, Resource Center, Research Program 06/01/2012 - 1/15/2014 PO Box 7129 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Boise, ID 83707-7129 15. Supplementary Notes Project performed in cooperation with the Idaho Transportation Department, KC Harvey Environmental, LLC, and Montana State University’s Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences 16. Abstract Establishing native vegetation communities on roadsides can be a proactive approach to sustainable roadways. Revegetation with native species is the preferred management practice on Idaho roadways. The environmental and economic benefits of increasing desirable vegetation along Idaho roadways include: improving slope stabilization, soil conservation, roadway safety while reducing erosion, roadside maintenance costs and noxious weeds in right-of-ways. Selecting appropriate plant species for revegetation is the foundation for successful roadside revegetation. This report provides practical information for improving roadway revegetation in Idaho. The overall objective was to monitor vegetation and soil attributes to determine effective means for establishing perennial native vegetation, reducing surface erosion, and preventing weed encroachment. The results provide guidance and recommendations on species selection, seeding methods and site preparation techniques. Bluebunch wheatgrass and Idaho fescue were the best performing grasses. Grass species that consistently establish where seeded but have a low canopy cover include sheep fescue, western wheatgrass, and basin wildrye. Forbs and shrub species had low establishment success rates and low percent canopy cover on roadside revegetation projects. If forbs are desired, it is recommended to use species that are known to establish well, relatively inexpensive, and tolerant of the herbicides being applied to control weeds. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Roadside revegetation, native species, seeding, best management Copies available online at practices, erosion control http://itd.idaho.gov/highways/research/ 19. Security Classification (of this report) 20. Security Classification (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 168 pages None FHWA Form F 1700.7 i METRIC (SI*) CONVERSION FACTORS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH LENGTH in inches 25.4 mm mm millimeters 0.039 inches in ft feet 0.3048 m m meters 3.28 feet ft yd yards 0.914 m m meters 1.09 yards yd mi Miles (statute) 1.61 km km kilometers 0.621 Miles (statute) mi AREA AREA in2 square inches 645.2 millimeters squared cm2 mm2 millimeters squared 0.0016 square inches in2 ft2 square feet 0.0929 meters squared m2 m2 meters squared 10.764 square feet ft2 yd2 square yards 0.836 meters squared m2 km2 kilometers squared 0.39 square miles mi2 mi2 square miles 2.59 kilometers squared km2 ha hectares (10,000 m2) 2.471 acres ac ac acres 0.4046 hectares ha MASS MASS (weight) (weight) oz Ounces (avdp) 28.35 grams g g grams 0.0353 Ounces (avdp) oz lb Pounds (avdp) 0.454 kilograms kg kg kilograms 2.205 Pounds (avdp) lb T Short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 megagrams mg mg megagrams (1000 kg) 1.103 short tons T VOLUME VOLUME fl oz fluid ounces (US) 29.57 milliliters mL mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces (US) fl oz gal Gallons (liq) 3.785 liters liters liters liters 0.264 Gallons (liq) gal ft3 cubic feet 0.0283 meters cubed m3 m3 meters cubed 35.315 cubic feet ft3 yd3 cubic yards 0.765 meters cubed m3 m3 meters cubed 1.308 cubic yards yd3 Note: Volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3 TEMPERATURE TEMPERATURE (exact) (exact) oF Fahrenheit 5/9 (oF-32) Celsius oC oC Celsius temperature 9/5 oC+32 Fahrenheit oF temperature temperature temperature ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION fc Foot-candles 10.76 lux lx lx lux 0.0929 foot-candles fc fl foot-lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/cm2 cd/cm candela/m2 0.2919 foot-lamberts fl 2 FORCE and FORCE and PRESSURE or PRESSURE or STRESS STRESS lbf pound-force 4.45 newtons N N newtons 0.225 pound-force lbf psi pound-force per 6.89 kilopascals kPa kPa kilopascals 0.145 pound-force psi square inch per square inch ii Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Cathy Ford of the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). Cathy was instrumental in designing the project, identifying sample sites, and assisting in data collection during the 2012 and 2013 field seasons. We appreciated the comments and feedback from Ned Parrish, ITD Research Program Manager and the project’s Technical Advisory Committee comprised of Alissa Salmore, Environmental Planner, ITD District 5; Garth Newman, ITD Training Specialist; Inez Hopkins, ITD Senior Research Analyst and Brent Inghram of the Federal Highway Administration. We would also like to thank Phil Johnson from the Montana Department of Transportation who provided additional revegetation sampling sites and valuable examples of revegetation practices which have been incorporated into this report. The reviewers and advisors added consistency and thoroughness to the document for which we are grateful. Credits are provided for those that shared their photos for this report. For all photos with no credit, those were provided by the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University, KC Harvey Environmental, LLC, or ITD. iii iv Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Objectives ................................................................................................................................................. 3 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Chapter 2. Idaho Roadside Revegetation Site Evaluations ......................................................................... 11 Established Research Sites ...................................................................................................................... 11 Worley SH-58 ...................................................................................................................................... 11 Clayton SH-75 ...................................................................................................................................... 14 McCammon US-30 .............................................................................................................................. 20 Opportunistic Sites .................................................................................................................................. 28 Setters US-95....................................................................................................................................... 28 Electrical Substation US-95 ................................................................................................................. 31 Genesee US-95 ...................................................................................................................................