PRACTICES FOR EROSION CONTROL ON ROADSIDE AREAS IN GEORGIA

SEVERAL STUDIES OF EROSION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF VEGETATIVE COVER ON ROADSIDE AREAS IN GEORGIA INDICATE THAT 5-YEAR AVERAGE SEDIMENT YIELDS FROM BARE ROADSIDE AREAS RANGED FROM 78 TO 234 TONS/ACRE/YEAR. YEARLY SEDIMENT YIELDS RANGED FROM 25 TO 455 TONS/ACRE. AFTER THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A FULL VEGETATIVE COVER AND LINING OF DITCHES, THESE HIGH SEDIMENT YIELDS RANGED FROM 0.12 TO 11.5 TONS/ACRE. PROTECTION AFFORDED BY 2 TONS/ACRE OF STRAW AS ADEQUATE FOR SOIL STABILIZATION UNTIL PLANTS COULD DEVELOP INTO A PERMANENT COVER. FORTY-ONE PLANT SPECIES WERE TESTED AT CARTERSVILLE AND IN THE EXPANDED PROGRAM FOR ADAPTABILITY IN SUPPLYING PROTECTIVE COVER ON ROADSIDE AREAS. EIGHT OF THESE SPECIES PROVED SUCCESSFUL IN THE NORTHERN HALF OF GEORGIA, AND 8 SPECIES WERE ALSO SUCCESSFUL IN THE COASTAL PLAINS. THE BEST STANDS OF BAHIA GRASS WERE OBTAINED WHEN SEEDED ALONE AND WHEN SEEDED IN MARCH AND JUNE RATHER THAN IN SEPTEMBER. STANDS WERE MORE DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN ON SANDY SOILS THAN ON CLAY SOILS. SEEDING RATES ABOVE 40 LB/ACRE DID NOT IMPROVE STANDS UNLESS COMPETITION WAS REMOVED. MAINTENANCE FERTILIZER TREATMENTS AT CARTERSVILLE SHOWED THAT PERIODIC APPLICATIONS ADJUSTED TO THE PLANT NEEDS WERE ECONOMICAL. EXCESSIVE RATES OF NITROGEN AND ANNUAL TREATMENTS INCREASED MATERIAL AND LABOR COSTS AND CAUSED EXCESSIVE PLANT RESIDUES ON SOME AREAS. THESE RESIDUES TENDED TO SMOTHER AND THIN THE DESIRABLE PLANTS. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1970/335/335-008.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Paper sponsored by Committee on Right-of-Way Maintenance and presented at the 49th Annual Meeting. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Richardson, E C
  • Diseker, Ellis G
  • Sheridan, Joseph M
• Publication Date: 1970

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 35-44
• Monograph Title: Roadside development and maintenance
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 335
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Clay; Erosion; Erosion control; Fertilization (Horticulture); Maintenance; Roadside; Sand; Sedimentation; Soil stabilization; Soils; Vegetation
• Geographic Terms: Georgia
• Old TRIS Terms: Cover; Fertilization; Yield
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00218742
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jun 1 1971 12:00AM