Native roadside perennial grasses persist a decade after planting in the Sacramento Valley

Authors

Ryan E. O'Dell, University of California, David
Stephen L. Young, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Victor P. Claassen, University of California, Davis

Date of this Version

4-2007

Comments

Published in CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE, VOLUME 61, NUMBER 2 (April-June 2007), pp. 79-84. Copyright © 2007 The Regents of the University of California. http://CaliforniaAgriculture.ucop.edu

Abstract

Restoring native grassland along roadsides can provide a relatively low-maintenance, drought-tolerant and stable perennial vegetative cover with reduced weed growth, as opposed to the high-maintenance invasive annual cover (requiring intensive mowing and herbicide treatments) that dominates most Sacramento Valley roadsides. A survey of long-established roadside native-grass plantings in Yolo County showed that once established and protected from disturbance, such plantings can persist with minimal maintenance for more than a decade, retaining a high proportion of native species. The survey also showed that each species of native perennial grass displays a microhabitat preference for particular roadside topographic positions, and that native perennial grass cover is negatively affected by disturbance.