Roadside revegetation: A new frontier for native plant growers

Abstract

Roadside revegetation projects are an important and growing new niche for native plant suppliers. Recent shifts in public policy now require the use of locally adapted native plants as the first choice when roadsides are being revegetated. These shifts in policy recognize that the establishment of healthy native plant communities is the best defense against invasive plant problems, as well as the most economical means to achieve soil and water quality standards and protect environmental quality. Thus, roadside revegetation with native plants is an important ecological and societal goal that will require public and private sector cooperation to reach. A new partnership between the Western Federal Lands Highway Division and the USDA Forest Service has led to a more interdisciplinary approach to roadside revegetation that incorporates the needs for seed and nursery production into the road construction timeline. Better coordination and holistic planning is resulting in some exemplary projects. Challenges for native plant suppliers in working with roadside projects include harsh conditions, large scale needs, uses of heavy equipment, high public visibility, and pressure to meet water quality and erosion control standards with plant performance. Native plants and the people who grow them are meeting these challenges with innovative stocktypes and application methods that make roadside revegetation more effective. Examples of these innovations include: (1) hydroseeding applications of native seed mixes for not only grasses but also forbs, shrubs, and trees; (2) “expandable stinger” equipment and deep-rooted stocktypes to establish seedlings on previously inaccessible slopes; and (3) seed mat methods to establish plants on vertical gabion walls. Roadside revegetation represents an important and expanding frontier for native plant suppliers and ecological restoration efforts, and opportunities are expected to grow.

Citation

Riley, Scott A.; Wilkinson, Kim M. 2007. Roadside revegetation: A new frontier for native plant growers. In: Riley, L.E.; Dumroese, R.K.; Landis, T.D. National Proceedings: Forest and Conservation Nursery Associations - 2006. Proceedings RMRS-P-50. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 72-76