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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
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    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Precision Agriculture Tools for Roadside Management
and Beautification</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2604608</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Precision agriculture is a spatially-aware, technology-enabled methodology which allows the precise and accurate control of the components necessary for sustainable agricultural production. In this case the desired production system is planted roadside vegetation for ecological improvement and beautification, specifically the wildflowers that have become a 
North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) signature. Commercially available precision agriculture systems have been well-developed for over 20 years, but they have not been widely adapted for use in the roadside environment. This project seeks to develop systems and controls that can be leveraged into seeding systems that would allow the DOT wildflower program to continue to innovate and make establishment of wildflower areas more safely and quickly while creating unique and visually appealing public displays. In addition to ground-based vehicle control, advanced unmanned aerial systems and vehicles (UAS/UAVs) have been developed that could make management and improvement of
roadside vegetation easier and safer. While there are options for roadside application of granular inputs, this project seeks to address the use of UAVs to apply granular products. Specifically the use of treated granulars that combine fertilizer and weed management into one operation are under study. As a suite of technologies, precision agriculture systems can be leveraged into the roadside environment and continue to place NCDOT at the forefront of ecologically informed wildflower and vegetation management.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 30 Sep 2025 13:34:37 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2604608</guid>
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      <title>Guide to Increasing and Sustaining Native Flora in Roadside Vegetation</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2319914</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Many state departments of transportation (DOTs) have struggled to manage roadside vegetation in a cost-effective manner that also fosters vigorous and diverse native plant communities, including blooming species. Diverse vegetation on roadsides can support operational, environmental, and social values, including valuable pollinator habitat and other ecosystem services. A 2019 Nebraska study (NDOT Roadside Vegetation Establishment and Management) highlights the need to balance ecological, operational, and cost concerns. Research is needed to better understand and develop practical, environmentally responsible strategies to increase and sustain native plant diversity in roadside vegetation. This research should examine relevant factors such as soil conditions, plant species selection, seed quality, herbicide application, and scenic value.   

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this project is to develop a guide for state DOTs to maintain safe, efficient, and cost-effective vegetation diversity practices. At a minimum, the guide should provide a summary of suggested practices and resources for state DOTs tied to climatic/ecologic regions, and should be supported by a field use document.

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jan 2024 16:24:54 GMT</pubDate>
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      <title>Implementation of Field Recommendations for the NCDOT Wildflower Program</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2149837</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The fumigant methyl bromide has been widely and successfully used by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for weed control when establishing wildflowers along highway rights-of-way. With the loss of methyl bromide in 2005, NCDOT must continue to find alternatives to control weeds in wildflower plantings. Research is proposed for field experiments to evaluate weed control efficacy and tolerance of multiple species of wildflowers to a number of herbicides applied during establishment of wildflowers and for maintenance in established plantings. Information gained from this research will be essential for NCDOT to develop suitable alternative approaches for weed control in the absence of methyl bromide, as well as the loss of existing herbicides.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 10 Apr 2023 10:08:38 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2149837</guid>
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      <title>Incorporation of Pollinator Plantings to Enhance Ecosystem Functions and  Durability of Transportation Right-of-Way Infrastructure (2.15)</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1875139</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Highway right-of-ways (ROWs) provide numerous ecosystem services beyond erosion control. Incorporation of native grasses and flowering plants into ROW plantings can further increase the services by providing habitat for endangered native pollinators while improving aesthetics, erosion control, and stormwater filtration. However, highway ROWs are not natural habitats. The roadway itself alters the micro-climate of the roadside, and safety considerations require much of the ROW to be maintained as grassland or scrubland. In New England these are early succession ecosystems and must be regularly mowed or otherwise disturbed. Many New England wildflowers are not adapted to the roadside environment, while wildflowers used on roadsides in other regions are not native in New England and may not be adapted to the soils or climate. This project will use vegetation surveys and adaptation trials to identify native and naturalized flowering plants adapted to the highway ROW environment, and will create trial plantings in the highway ROW to identify best practices for establishing native grasses and forbs from seed on the roadside. Roadsides have been successfully maintained as habitat for native plants, pollinators, small animals and birds in other regions but very little management of roadside for habitat has occurred in New England. Best practices from other regions need to be tested to determine whether they are appropriate in New England since soils, climate, and native species differ. Trial plantings will be established in partnership with RIDOT Maintenance to ensure that the establishment methods used are possible with the equipment and employee skills available.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sat, 28 Aug 2021 18:31:56 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1875139</guid>
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