Fig. 3. Insects Collected from plots in August, all Airports. Over twice the total insects captured in August were found in the Contractor’s Mix (CM) compared with Little Bluestem (LB) and the Indian Grass (IG). Insect numbers were largest for the August dataset, and declined at the edge of

the season (data not shown).

Turf WarsUsing Native Plants to Reduce Wildlife Attraction at General Aviation Airports

Donna Vogler and Kristin Dorsch

Biology Department, State University of New York, College at Oneonta

Acknowledgments

This research is supported by the FAA Aviation Research Program (Grant # 09-G-006) and the SUNY Oneonta Research Foundation. Special thanks to Kathy Meeker andTanja deMauro for their contributions to the project.

Hydroseeding was carried out by the SUNY Oneonta Maintenance Staff, the Chemung County SWCD, and theNYSDOT in Rome, NY.

Also assisting with this project were Travis Devault (USDA NWRC), Bill Degraw and the operations and maintenance staff at Elmira-Corning Regional airport, Dean Millington and Gary Swierczek of Griffiss International Airport, and Brad Curpier of the Oneonta Municipal Airport. Interns Rachael Stevenson and Alexia Baker, and students from the SUNY Oneonta Biology Club provided valuable service monitoring bird visits and sorting insects.

Introduction

Birds and other wildlife strikes cost the U.S. civil aviation industry over $620 million per year (Dolbeer & Wright 2008) and place human life in jeopardy during take-offs and landings. Wildlife hazards may be especially problematic for General Aviation airports where wildlife control is more likely to be constrained by limited funding for adequate fencing. These airports are also more likely to be located in rural areas adjacent to wildlife-friendly agricultural land.

Vegetation used on airfields must be aesthetically pleasing, tolerant of drought and vehicle traffic, and low-maintenance. Additionally, in order to manage for wildlife hazards, it must not provide ample cover or food (seeds) for wildlife. Some native herb and grass species may be less palatable to wildlife while still retaining the characteristics necessary to establish a low maintenance stand.

Here we report on the results of an ongoing project supported by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to evaluate five native plant species for their potential to attract or repel wildlife. Six 30 M2

plots were established at airports servicing Oneonta, Utica and Corning, NY and monitored for vegetation establishment and wildlife visitation beginning May 2009.

The native species tested included:Little Bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium, Crinkled Hair Grass Deschampsia flexuosa, Poverty Oats Danthonia spicata, Lemon Thyme Thymus pulegiodes, Indian Grass Sorghastrum nutans. The Contractors mix used as the control consisted of Annual Rye, Kentucky Bluegrass, White Clover and Perennial Rye.

References

Dolbeer, R.A. & Wright, S.E. (June 2008) Wildlife Strikes to Civil Aircraft in The United States 1990-2007. Federal Aviation Administration National Wildlife Strike Database Serial Report Number 14.

Leopold, D.J. (2005) Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening and Conservation. Timber Press, Portland Or.

Mechenes, M. (Jun. 12, 2008) Golfers and Golf Courses Benefit from the Use of Native Grasses in Roughs U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/news/stories/news4423.html

Table 1. Analysis of Variance for October Vegetation Cover. Both main effects (Airport and Grass

type) were highly significant, as was the interaction term (A * G). This suggests that not all turf varieties grew equally at the three

airports. Further analyses are being explored.

Source DF Seq SS Adj SS Adj MS F P

Airport 2 14398.5 14398.5 7199.2 64.06 0.000

Grass 5 43667.8 43667.8 8733.6 77.71 0.000

Air*Grass 10 8669.8 8669.8 867.0 7.71 0.000

Error 72 8092.0 8092.0 12.4

Total 89 74828.1

S = 10.6014 R-Sq = 89.19% R-Sq(adj) = 86.63%

Preliminary Results

Vegetation establishment. As expected, the Contractor’s Mix established earlier (Fig. 2a) and covered more of the plot area (40-90%) than the native plants tested. An ANOVA (Table 1) revealed a significant interaction of airport site and vegetation type. This suggests that some vegetation types grew better at some airports than at others. For example, vegetation at the Oneonta airport established a suitable turf in 4 of 6 treatment plots: native Indian Grass, Little Bluestem and Thyme, plus our control plot of Contractor’s mix (Fig. 2b). Vegetation at Griffiss Airport, however remained poor for all species and we are considering a re-seeding of some portion for next season. We suspect poor soil quality may be a factor there. Broadleaf weeds particularly at Elmira were likely a factor reducing the success of grass establishment. A selective broad leaf herbicide was applied at this site late in the growing season. Vegetation at all sites will be re-assessed in April, May and June of 2010, at which time specific recommendations for seeding rates will be determined.

Wildlife visitation. In October a final assessment of animal fecal and pellet counts at all sites indicated that 43 separate animal fecal deposits were made at all Contractors Mix plots cumulatively, whereas the next most commonly visited plot, the Little Bluestem, received only about half the visitation (23 fecal and pellet counts). Large animal visits were limited at most sites because of current fencing and wildlife hazard management practices, although the Oneonta plots were outside the main fence and provided near 70% of large mammal animal sign. Data on bird visitation are under review. Insects were found twice as often in the Contractor’s Mix relative to the next most commonly visited grass (Indian Grass, Fig. 3), a pattern consistent with the large mammal visitation pattern.

The use of native plants for ecological restoration work and horticultural design has been embraced by a growing number of ecologists and landscapers (Leopold 2005). A study by Mechenes (2008) shows that a naturalized landscape that incorporates native grasses benefits biodiversity, and saves costs on pesticides and labor for golf courses. The use of native non-palatable plants has not been adequately explored in airport settings, but holds great potential to contribute to a successful wildlife hazard management plan.

Fig. 1. A treatment plot (on left) of Little Bluestem with a control plot of Contractor’s mix (on right) four months after seeding. Photo: K. Dorsch

Fig. 2. Average vegetation cover (percent surface area) estimated from 5

subplots per treatment plot per month at each of the three airports. Fig. 2a depicts early cover at 6 weeks past sowing. Fig. 2b shows cover at the season’s end in October, 15 weeks from establishment. All native turf species produced less coverage than the contractors mix (p < 0.0001 Table 1), but Indian Grass and Little Bluestem produced acceptable cover at the Oneonta Airport by October (See plot on left in Fig. 1, and Fig. 2b above). Differences by airport were highly significant (p < 0.001 Table 1) with Griffiss showing consistently the lowest coverage. Low coverage rates at Griffiss may be a result of poor soil condition at that particular site as evidenced by the marginal (and declining percent coverage) in even the Contractors Mix from early to late season (Fig 2a vs 2b).

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