Fertilizer Effects on Attaining Vegetation Requirements

This project was developed to evaluate the effects of varying the substrate and fertilization regimes on the success of complex warm-season grass and forb seedings on recent roadside construction sites. Re-vegetating construction projects is required for complying with Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) environmental permits pertaining to wetlands, endangered or threatened species, and stormwater. Two experimental sites were established near Ashland, Nebraska. Both sites were established on 3:1 backslope locations that had been successfully planted to warm-season mixes in 2005. Sites were disked repeatedly to kill existing vegetation in preparation for this study. Topsoil was purchased from a local business and applied to half of plot area. The area was seeded by NDOR contractors using NDOR protocols, after which fertilization treatments were applied by hand immediately after seeding. The first site (SAC) was planted in November 2009. The second site (Ashland) was planted in June 2010. Soil samples were collected from both existing cut-slope soils and imported topsoil to allow evaluation of soil fertility. After seeding, vegetation frequency data was collected twice per year: once in June and once in September through September 2012. Foliar cover data was collected once in August of 2012. Soil movement was tracked using erosion pins. In addition to the main project, a small side project at SAC tested the effect of adding mycorrhizae to the existing cut-slope soils with either no fertilization or standard rates of nitrogen and phosphorus. Only species frequency data was collected for this project.

• Record URL:
  • https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/ndor/105
• Record URL:
  • https://dot.nebraska.gov/media/bzee545z/final-report-p334.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Nebraska, Lincoln

  Department of Agronomy and Horticulture
  P.O. Box 830915
  Lincoln, NE  United States  68583-0915

  Nebraska Department of Roads

  P.O. Box 94759
  Highway Building
  Lincoln, NE  United States  68509-4759
• Authors:
  • Schacht, Walter
  • Wienhold, Carol
• Publication Date: 2014

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 25p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Embankments; Fertilizers; Grasses; Revegetation; Seeding; Topsoil; Vegetation
• Uncontrolled Terms: Mycorrhizal fungi
• Geographic Terms: Nebraska
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; I15: Environment; I61: Equipment and Maintenance Methods;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01516273
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: RHE-01
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Feb 28 2014 1:32PM