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Herbaceous Covers to Control Tree Invasion in Rights-of-Way: Ecological Concepts and Applications

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Abstract

In northeastern America, thousands of kilometers of utility rights-of-way (ROWs) have to be managed to prevent the establishment of a tall vegetation cover that does not comply with safety and maintenance regulations. Recent decades have seen the emergence of ecologically based vegetation control strategies to reduce environmental impacts as well as maintenance costs. One such strategy is to take advantage of competitive herbaceous covers to limit tree invasion. This approach, however, as well as its fundamental underlying principles, has been little scrutinized. In this article, (1) we present the main ecological concepts supporting the use of a herbaceous cover to limit tree invasion, emphasizing naturally forested ecosystems of northeastern America. They include reported evidence of stable plant communities and an overview of potential underlying mechanisms of inhibition. (2) We then review field applications, specifically testing the ability of seeded herbaceous covers to control tree invasion in ROWs. (3) We discuss unresolved issues relevant to management and research. The available evidence suggests that seeding herbaceous covers in ROWs can help control tree invasion, but many issues still limit broad-scale applications. The various interactions that govern plant community dynamics are far from being fully understood, so selecting species still largely depends on an empirical approach. Patterns of resistance to tree invasion must be investigated over a wide range of spatial, historical, and environmental contexts to determine effective management and seeding practices that will lead to broad-scale applications. We suggest establishing communities rather than single dominant species and using as much as possible native species to limit risks of invasion.

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Acknowledgments

This research benefited from the financial support of Gaz Metropolitain (Quebec). We are especially grateful to André Gougeon and Jean Trudelle from Gaz Metropolitain and Urgel Delisle from U.D.A. Inc. for their support and collaboration. We thank the numerous scientists and managers from eastern Canada and the United States who gracefully shared their expertise with us. The comments of S. D. Wilson and one anonymous reviewer greatly helped improve this article.

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  1. Department of Plant Science and McGill School of Environment, McGill University, Macdonald Campus, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, (QC), Canada, H9X 3V9

    Sylvie de Blois

  2. Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Université de Montréal, Montréal, (QC), Canada, H1X 2B2

    Jacques Brisson & André Bouchard

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de Blois, S., Brisson, J. & Bouchard, A. Herbaceous Covers to Control Tree Invasion in Rights-of-Way: Ecological Concepts and Applications. Environmental Management 33, 606–619 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-004-0039-4

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