Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T13:19:44.219Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Classification of Roadside Weeds along Two Highways in Different Climatic Zones According to Ecomorphological Traits

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Daisuke Hayasaka*
Affiliation:
Research Center for Environmental Risk, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Onogawa 16-2, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan
Munemitsu Akasaka
Affiliation:
Research Center for Environmental Risk, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Onogawa 16-2, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan
Daisaku Miyauchi
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, Hodogaya-ku, Tokiwadai 79-7, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
Taizo Uchida
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu Sangyo University, Higashi-ku, Matsukadai 2-3-1, Fukuoka 813-8503, Japan
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: hayasaka.daisuke@nies.go.jp

Abstract

Growth of vegetation in curbside cracks causes deterioration of asphalt and curbs, reducing road longevity and safety capabilities. Road managers spend a considerable amount of time and money on roadside vegetation management every year. The vegetation in curbside cracks in these study regions is managed approximately once a year by mowing and road sweeping using street-sweeper trucks. Nevertheless, ideal management practices of roadside vegetation have not yet been established partly due to insufficient knowledge of the ecological strategies of plants invading roadsides, especially curbside cracks. Although establishment of plants in the cracks might be restricted due to severe anthropogenic road disturbances, the cracks could be habitats for species with specific ecological traits. The objective of this study was to clarify the floristic and functional characteristics of roadside weeds, particularly species invading curbside cracks, to provide information for effective road management. The species composition of plants invading the cracks was surveyed along Route 3 (southern Japan) and Route 4 (eastern Japan) in different climatic zones, based on 108 floristic inventories. We compared species occurrence and composition to characterize the dominant ecomorphological traits of the species. In total, 163 species occurred in curbside cracks along both routes. Species composition of vegetation in curbside cracks was more variable between the routes than between land-use types. Of the 54 species, more than 5% occurred in all plots, and only three had differences in occurrence among land-use types. Ecomorphological trait composition patterns of the species were similar across land-use types. From these results, we found that regardless of differences in species composition among regions, climatic conditions, and surrounding land-use type, there were some dominant ecomorphological traits of roadside vegetation with plants in curbside cracks, such as ephemeral monophytes that are barochorous or anemochorous. By contrast, rhizomatous perennials, which cause greater deterioration of asphalt than ephemeral monophytes, were rare along the cracks. Although vegetation composition and structure generally depend on land-use types and disturbance regimes, linear landscape elements such as curbsides might be habitats for plants adapted to road disturbances. Roadside vegetation management, such as mowing and road sweeping once a year, seems sufficient to restrict establishment of rhizomatous perennials around Japan.

El crecimiento de la vegetación en grietas de acotamientos y cunetas causa el deterioro del asfalto, disminuyendo la vida útil del camino y sus capacidades de seguridad. Cada año, los encargados de caminos gastan una cantidad considerable de tiempo y dinero en el manejo de la vegetación en las orillas de los caminos. La vegetación que crece en las grietas de los acotamientos en las regiones estudiadas es eliminada aproximadamente una vez al año a través de corte y con barrido usando camiones barredores de carreteras. Sin embargo, aún no se han establecido prácticas ideales de manejo, parcialmente debido a insuficientes conocimientos de estrategias ecológicas en plantas que invaden los caminos, especialmente en las grietas de los acotamientos. Aunque el establecimiento de plantas en las grietas podría ser limitado debido a disturbios antropogénicos severos en los caminos, las grietas tal vez sean hábitat para especies con características ecológicas específicas. El objetivo de este estudio fue aclarar las características florísticas y funcionales de la maleza que crece en los acotamientos, particularmente las especies que invaden sus grietas, para informar de un manejo más efectivo en las carreteras. Se examinó la composición de las especies de plantas que invadían las grietas de los acotamientos a lo largo de las rutas 3 (Sur de Japón) y 4 (Este de Japón) en diferentes zonas climáticas, basados en 108 conteos. Para caracterizar los rasgos eco-morfológicos dominantes de las especies, comparamos su ocurrencia y composición. En total, 163 especies ocurrieron en las grietas en ambas rutas. La composición de las especies de vegetación en las grietas, fue más variable entre rutas que entre tipos de uso del suelo. De 54 especies de arriba, el 5% ocurrió en todas las parcelas y solamente tres tuvieron diferencias en ocurrencia entre tipos de uso del suelo. Los patrones de composición de las características eco-morfológicas de las especies fueron similares a través de tipos de uso del suelo. De estos resultados, encontramos que a pesar de las diferencias en la composición de especies entre regiones, de condiciones climáticas y de tipo de uso del suelo en el entorno, hubo algunas características eco-morfológicas dominantes de vegetación al borde de las carreteras con plantas en las grietas de los acotamientos, tales como monofitas efimerales siendo balocorias o anemocorias. En contraste, plantas perennes rizomatosas, las cuales causan un mayor deterioro en el asfalto que las monofitas efímeras, fueron raras en las grietas. Aún cuando la composición y estructura de la vegetación generalmente dependen de los tipos de uso del suelo y los regímenes de perturbación, los elementos lineales del entorno como son los acotamientos, pueden ser hábitat para plantas adaptadas a las perturbaciones en los caminos. El manejo de la vegetación al borde de los caminos mediante el corte y barrido mecánico una vez al año, parece ser suficiente para restringir el establecimiento de plantas perennes rizomatosas en Japón.

Type
Weed Management—Other Crops/Areas
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Braun-Blanquet, J. 1964. Pflanzensoziologie. 3rd ed. Wien Austria Springer-Verlag. 856 p.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christen, D. C. and Matlack, G. R. 2006. The role of roadsides in plant invasions: a demographic approach. Conserv. Biol. 20:385391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, J. C. 1986. Statistics and data analysis in geology. 2nd ed. New York John Wiley & Sons. XXX p.Google Scholar
Hill, M. O. and Gauch, H. G. 1980. Detrended correspondence analysis: an improved ordination technique. Vegetatio 42:4758.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ichizen, N. 2007. Thinking about what are weeds? J. Weed Sci. Tech. 52:8586. [In Japanese]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jantunen, J., Saarinen, K., Valtonen, A., and Saarnio, S. 2007. Flowering and seed production success along roads with different mowing regimes. Appl. Veg. Sci. 10:285292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kalwij, J. M., Milton, S. J., and McGeoch, M. A. 2008. Road verges as invasion corridors? A spatial hierarchical test in an arid ecosystem. Landsc. Ecol. 23:439451.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kira, T. 1977. A climatological interpretation of Japanese vegetation zones. Pp. 2130. In Miyawaki, A. and Tüxen, R., eds. Vegetation Science and Environmental Protection. Tokyo, Japan Maruzen Co., Ltd.Google Scholar
Miyawaki, A., Okuda, S., and Fujiwara, R. 1994. Handbook of Japanese Vegetation. Tokyo, Japan Shibundo Co., Ltd. 646 p. [In Japanese]Google Scholar
Numata, M. 1990. The Ecological Encyclopedia of Wild Plants in Japan. Tokyo, Japan Zenkoku Noson Kyoiku Kyokai. 664 p. [In Japanese]Google Scholar
Osada, T. 1976. Colored Illustrations of Naturalized Plants of Japan. Osaka Japan Hoikusha Publishing Co., Ltd. 425 p. [In Japanese]Google Scholar
Parr, T. W. and Way, J. M. 1988. Management of roadside vegetation: the long term effects of cutting. J. Appl. Ecol. 25:10731087.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raunkiaer, C. 1934. Life Forms of Plants and Plant Geography. London, UK Oxford University Press. 632 p.Google Scholar
Rentch, J. S., Fortney, R. H., Stephenson, S. L., Adams, H. S., Grafton, W. N., and Anderson, J. T. 2005. Vegetation–site relationships of roadside plant communities in West Virginia, USA. J. Appl. Ecol. 42:129138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, W. 1989. Plant dispersal by motor cars. Vegetatio 80:147152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Šerá, B. 2008. Road vegetation in Central Europe—an example from the Czech Republic. Biologia 63:10851088.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Šerá, B. 2010. Road-side herbaceous vegetation: life history groups and habitat preferences. Pol. J. Ecol. 58:6979.Google Scholar
Shimizu, T. 2003. Naturalized Plants of Japan. Tokyo Japan Heibonsha Ltd. 337 p. [In Japanese]Google Scholar
Shuster, W. D., Herms, C. P., Frey, M. N., Doohan, D. J., and Cardina, J. 2005. Comparison of survey methods for an invasive plant at the subwatershed level. Biol. Invasions 7:393403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, R. S. and Jones, L. 1991. The phenology of mesotrophic grassland in the Pennine Dales, northern England: historic hay cutting dates, vegetation variation and plant species phenologies. J. Appl. Ecol. 28:4259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suto, Y., Takahashi, Y., and Ogasawara, M. 2006. Summer weed vegetation of road pavement seams in Route 4. J. Weed Sci. Tech. 51:19. [In Japanese with English summary]CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tiébré, M-S., Saad, L., and Mahy, G. 2008. Landscape dynamics and habitat selection by the alien invasive Fallopia (Polygonaceae) in Belgium. Biodivers. Conserv. 17:23572370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, M. G. 1989. Landscape ecology—the effect of pattern on process. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 20:171197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tyser, R. W. and Worley, C. A. 1992. Alien flora in grasslands adjacent to road and trail corridors in Glacier National Park, Montana (USA). Conserv. Biol. 6:253262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vainio, M., Kekäläinen, H., Alanen, A., and Pykälä, J. 2001. Traditional Rural Biotopes in Finland. Final Report of the Nationwide Inventory. Helsinki, Finland Finnish Environment Institute. 163 p. [In Finnish with English summary]Google Scholar
van der Lippe, M. and Kowarik, I. 2007. Long-distance dispersal of plants by vehicles as a driver of plant invasions. Conserv. Biol. 21:986996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zar, J. H. 1984. Biostatistical Analysis. 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall. 718 p.Google Scholar
Zwaenepoel, A., Roovers, P., and Hermy, M. 2006. Motor vehicles as vectors of plant species from road verges in a suburban environment. Basic Appl. Ecol. 7:8393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar