Discover best practices in herbicide application to prevent off-target damage and deliver results in sensitive environments.
Understanding Sensitive Environments
Areas particularly vulnerable to off-target damage that require special attention during herbicide application are considered sensitive environments. For vegetation management purposes, this can include natural areas, wetlands, crops, and any native, desirable species or ornamental grasses and plants adjacent to, or growing within, the target area requiring herbicide treatment. Understanding the unique characteristics of these sensitive habitats, and the appropriate herbicide to use, is crucial for effective control of the target weed species while preserving the surrounding environment.
Preserve Infrastructure. Protect the Environment.
Invasive and undesirable species often grow within native environments. It is important to remove these unwanted plants, but also essential to protect the natural habitat in which they reside. These spaces may include utility and transportation rights-of-way, sensitive wetlands, and protected natural areas. Selective, targeted herbicide application provides vegetation managers with an effective tool to ensure only targeted weed species are controlled. This approach allows native grasses and forbs to flourish and provides a healthier ecosystem for wildlife and pollinators.
In areas such as roadsides, broadleaf weeds, brush, and vines can cause hazards for motorists or damage to infrastructure assets. Using a selective herbicide, like Alligare's Whetstone, vegetation managers can use a broadcast application to control these weeds while preserving desirable grass species. In many instances, native broadleaf plants are desirable, and only specific species must be controlled. Individual plant treatment (IPT) allows vegetation managers to target unwanted plants and greatly reduce or remove the risk of off-target damage to desirable species. Foliar treatments include targeted handgun or backpack applications. Other IPT options include hack-and-squirt, basal bark, and cut-stump treatments. Additional information on basal bark and cut-stump techniques can be found in our recent article below.
Total Vegetation Control in Sensitive Environments
In transportation, energy, and industrial settings, total vegetation control is necessary to protect infrastructure and the workers responsible for maintaining facilities and assets. While bare-ground results are the desired outcome, certain sites may have desirable species adjacent to the target vegetation. These locations require an herbicide application that will not move laterally or be absorbed by the roots of trees and shrubs that may extend under the treatment area. This includes installations such as electric substations, cellular and radio towers, and pumping/gate stations. Alligare’s newest solution, Mainline, provides long-lasting, bare-ground results while giving vegetation managers peace of mind that the herbicide will stay where it is sprayed, thus minimizing the potential for off-target damage. It is important to note that proper application techniques and best practices must be followed to prevent other potential risks such as drift and run-off.
“Mainline is a great product for controlling vegetation in areas with desirable trees. It was able to kill all the undesirable vegetation, including larger plants, with no damage to desirable oaks or palm trees.” - Sam Sweetman, Florida Vegetation Service Manager
The combination of proper herbicide selection and implementing various application techniques allows vegetation managers to work in and around sensitive environments while protecting desirable plant species. Working in harmony with our surroundings, herbicides can contribute to the overall sustainability and conservation of sensitive environments and promote the long-term health and resilience of sensitive ecosystems.
