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Concurrent Education Session

MON-C07: Performance-based Plant Selection: Developing a National Bioretention Plant Selection Tool

Monday, October 7, 2024
3:45pm – 5:00pm ET
Location: Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Room 150AB
1.25 PDH, LA CES/HSW, AICP, ISA, NY/HSW, FL

Plants struggle to survive in bioretention, yet plant functionality is critical to bioretention’s success as a cost-effective alternative to gray infrastructure. Constant replacement is a financial burden and limiting factor for effective treatment. This discussion will focus on what we know regarding plant attributes to reach improved success across ecoregions.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Gain knowledge of the functions that plants perform in bioretention and how shifting to performance-based plant selection can advance the implementation of bioretention and create cost-efficient installations.
  • Learn about the creation of a bioretention plant selection tool, which seeks to align plant characteristics and traits with the specific functions that plants must perform in BMPs .
  • Learn how improved plant selection tools can address equity in bioretention implementation, and how communities benefit.
  • Contribute to an open discussion of how landscape architects can shape, inform, and advance the field of bioretention and green infrastructure design by best understanding plant functionality.