Weed control on hard surfaces in The Netherlands

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Urban Ecology
• Pest Management

Background:

• Non-agricultural pesticide use in the Netherlands significantly declined between 1986 and 2001.
• Pesticide application on pavements increased from 23% to 50% of total non-agricultural use during this period.
• Herbicides are a primary concern for non-agricultural pesticide use, particularly on pavements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine preventive and curative non-chemical weed control methods.
• To evaluate strategies for reducing herbicide dependency and environmental impact on pavements.
• To assess the effectiveness of different municipal approaches to herbicide use on hard surfaces.

Main Methods:

• Review of non-chemical weed control techniques, including mechanical and thermal methods.
• Analysis of municipal strategies for managing herbicide use on pavements.
• Evaluation of two distinct approaches: chemical phase-out and integrated pest management.

Main Results:

• Non-chemical methods, both preventive and curative, have been investigated for weed control.
• Mechanical methods are considered more effective on flat pavement surfaces.
• Two municipal strategies, chemical phase-out and integrated approach, aim to lower environmental impact.

Conclusions:

• Reducing reliance on herbicides for pavement weed control is achievable through various methods.
• Both phasing out chemicals and implementing integrated approaches can effectively minimize environmental risks.
• Further development of mechanical and thermal weed control technologies is recommended for future applications.