The Meadoway: native meadow creation in underutilized transmission line corridors

Abstract

Botany, Ahead of Print.
Across Ontario, Canada, there are over 30 000 km of transmission line corridors. With proper planning and ongoing maintenance and monitoring, these corridors have the potential to be transformed into native meadow, offering vital pathways connecting natural heritage systems and supporting wildlife movement, while promoting biodiversity, natural functions, and ecosystem health. In 2019, seeding trials were established in the Gatineau Hydro Corridor in east Toronto where a long-term meadow creation project (The Meadoway) is ongoing, to evaluate the effectiveness of herbicide treatment (glyphosate), sowing method, and sowing season on seeding success with the goal of informing site-specific meadow creation techniques. Seed mixes included a variety of native grasses and forbs and were dominated by copper savannah grass (Sorghastrum nutans), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), and switch grass (Panicum virgatum). Overall, fall or winter seeding with herbicide led to the highest seeding success. There was no difference in the effectiveness of hand seeding or using the seed drill. The results of this work provide valuable insights into effective seeding techniques to improve seeding success and also highlight the benefits of in situ experimentation to inform meadow creation techniques.