Establishment and Survival of Ground Cover Plantings on Disturbed Areas in Alberta. Final Report of Phase I

Resource Type
Authors
Herman Vaartnou
Gerry Wheeler
Resource Date:
1975
Page Length
48

In February of 1973 a meeting of representatives from interested government agencies and industries was held in Edmonton in order to determine the need for research on the revegetation of disturbed areas in Alberta. As a result of this meeting a research project was set up to study the establishment and survival of ground cover vegetation on roadsides, utility rights-of-way, and non-cultivated disturbed areas in Alberta. The purposes of the project, as set out by that meeting, were: 1. to provide the basic information necessary for recommendations for revegetation and management of disturbed areas, such as roadsides, utility rights-of-way, erosion control, etc., 2. to improve wildlife habitats in non-cultivated, disturbed areas, when practical and possible, 3. to provide the basic information regarding the amount of pesticides required to control undesirable vegetation on non-agricultural areas in Alberta, 4. to improve the aesthetic values of disturbed areas. A preliminary field survey was conducted during the summer of 1973 to provide background information on the vegetation presently growing on disturbed areas. The objectives of this survey were: 1. to study the natality, mortality, and biotic potential of the species providing the vegetation on roadsides, utility rights-of-way, and other disturbed areas in Alberta, 2. to locate, evaluate, and identify native vegetation which may be used for revegetation purposes on rights-of-way, roadsides, erosion control, and surface-mined areas, etc. in Alberta, 3. to study the weed infestation and bio-competitive weed control on reclaimed areas such as roadsides, utility rights-of-way, eroded, and surface-mined areas, 4. to collect seeds of native plants for testing, 5. to identify and evaluate problems involved in maintaining rights-of-way. The first three progress reports covered the vegetation along roadsides, pipeline and power line rights-of-way, and some strip-mining areas. Progress report #4 related the vegetation to some important soil properties. This report attempts to synthesize the information from the previous four reports as well as that gained in previous ecological studies and in some growth chamber testing conducted during the winter in order to provide preliminary recommendations as to which species ate likely to be useful for what revegetation purposes.