Invasive species along road segments and recommendations for remediation

Abstract

This literature review specifically looks at roads segments as facilitators for non-native invasive plant species. There are three types of roads presented throughout this paper; primary regionally paved roads; secondary local roads; and tertiary unpaved off-road segments. The goal is to review and recognize any predictable patterns of spread along these three types of roads, so that appropriate restoration efforts can be implemented. To review such a topic, several academic articles all containing a focus on invasive plant species along road corridors were gathered and organised into groups based on the type of road that was mentioned in the article. All the data covering species richness was organized into a table and analysed. Ultimately the results displayed that primary roads were the least successful at facilitating spread for invasive plant species and tertiary roads were most successful. Many variables like soil quality, temperature, traffic, etc. can provide explanation to why species richness is more abundant on tertiary roads than primary roads. Based on the compiled explanations from an array of literature, an appropriate conservation management technique such as leaving cuttings on site, cutting/ pulling invasive plants at a certain time as well as introducing wash stations on suitable site. This will encourage the reduction of unwanted invasion and ensure the efficiency of conservation practises.