Adapting NDOR's Roadside Seed Mixture for Local Site Conditions : Tables

Tables.DOCTech ReportProject RHE-07SoilsSeedsRoadsideRoadside floraVegetationNebraskaUniversity of Nebraska--Lincoln. Dept. of Agronomy and HorticultureSchacht, WalterSoper, JonWienhold, CarolUniversity of Nebraska--Lincoln. Dept. of Agronomy and HorticultureNebraska. Dept. of RoadsNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-Soils and GeologyUS Transportation CollectionThe Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) has considerable challenges with its objectives of rapidly establishing and maintaining a diverse and vigorous vegetation cover on roadsides. Establishing vegetation quickly on NDOR roadsides is important because the vegetation cover will stabilize the slopes and reduce the rate of soil erosion. In the last three decades, the seeding mixture for roadsides has switched from rapidly-establishing, exotic cool-season grasses to complex mixtures of slower-establishing, native grasses and wildflowers. The move to the newer, complex mixture(s) has been in response to interest expressed by the general public and other state and federal agencies in native plant communities and because of the desirable characteristics of native grasses (e.g., drought resilience and deep root systems). Overall, NDOR seeding mixture objectives are to select species that 1) are native, 2) are showy and attractive to the general public, 3) are adapted to roadside conditions, 4) establish relatively rapidly, 5) provide a relatively dense cover, and 6) contribute to permanent cover. The seeding mixtures should tolerate poor soil conditions and repeated mowing, while still producing a roadside that is visually appealing and diverse