Vegetation-site relationships of roadside plant communities in West Virginia, USA

Abstract

1. In mountainous regions, road construction is accompanied by large-scale physical disturbance associated with cut and fill operations that drastically alter the landscape. Cut operations remove soil and rock from the hillside above the proposed road, while soil and rock are deposited on the down-slope area in fill operations. The resultant roadsides are highly disturbed habitats characterized by plant communities maintained at an early successional stage. They are often planted with non-native species and frequently provide vectors for the introduction and spread of invasive species. Public transportation managers need to balance the rapid revegetation of roadsides with the goal of maximizing use of native species and minimizing the introduction of non-native species. 2. This study examined vegetation-site relationships along 13 major four-lane highways in West Virginia, USA, using analysis of variance, multiresponse permutation procedures and indicator species analysis. 3. Mean soil nutrient values showed some differences with respect to highway, but fewer when highway positions were compared. Similarly, when highway position was considered, there were no significant differences in mean plant species richness, evenness or diversity. 4. Results of multiresponse permutation procedures suggested that different highways may be characterized by distinct vegetation assemblages. This hypothesis was supported by indicator species analysis: 54 species showed a statistically significant (P < 0.05) affinity to one highway over all others. More than half of these were classified as non-native and exotic invasive species. When highway position was considered, no significant differences in community composition were found, and indicator species analysis found only 25 species that exhibited a significant affinity to one type of position. Of these, only eight were exotic. 5. Of the 33 most abundant herbaceous species, 11 showed a significant relationship between cover and distance from pavement. For all but one, average cover declined in a linear fashion with increasing distance. 6. Synthesis and applications. Despite extensive topographic disturbance associated with highway construction, the resultant vegetative communities do not differ with respect to type of construction or resultant landform. This suggests that highway agencies can manage roadside vegetation using similar, standard techniques. Roadsides are optimal growing sites for exotic invasive species that out-compete native vegetation. Management goals should therefore include techniques for limiting the establishment of these species, and substitution of non-native species planted for erosion control with suitable native species. © 2005 British Ecological Society.