The Use of Native Plants for Revegetation along West Virginia ...

Much research has been done on using native plants on roadsides (Ahern et al. 1992, Barton
et al. 2002, Corley 1995, Fiedler et al. 1990, Harper 1988, Morrison 1981, Swan et al. 1993).
Many have found it to be a viable and economical option.
The goals of this research are:
1) To identify native plants suitable for seeding along highways and document
the growth and establishment of these species on highway cut and fill sites.
2) To develop methods to enhance native species establishment in roadside
2. Literature Review
environments.
3) To correlate the establishment of native plants used for highway revegetation
to physical and chemical soil properties.
2.1. Current West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOT) Revegetation Practices
Most state highway departments have developed revegetation strategies through years of
testing. The mountainous nature of West Virginia makes the construction of highways very
similar to surface mining. To maintain moderate grades, the mountainous topography is blasted
and the blasted rock material is then used to backfill lower areas. The topsoil is removed and
kept separate to be placed only when the entire roadway is finished. Topsoil may also be
obtained and hauled from sites outside of the construction area. Before placement, the subsoil is
scarified to promote bonding with the topsoil. After spreading the soil, it is raked to remove all
large clods, brush, litter, or other foreign material, and rocks larger than 2 inches (Facemire et al.,
2000).
The application of limestone is determined prior to seeding and is based on a lime
requirement test. The area to be seeded is scarified to create a seed bed and seed is sown
immediately. All legume seed is inoculated with appropriate cultures and when a hydroseeder is
to be used, the inoculant is increased five times the normal rate. Rates and seeding combinations
used by the WVDOT can be found in Table 1. Fertilizer is typically applied concurrently with
the seeding at a rate of 1,120 kg/ha of 10-20-10. An additional 336 kg/ha of slow release urea
2