Ecological restoration of riverbanks using soil bioengineering

Abstract

土壤生物工程是一项利用存活植物构筑边坡, 以实现河道坡岸稳定和生态修复等生态功能的集成工程技术。本文给出了我国第一个大规模采用土壤生物工程修复河道坡岸的工程实例, 工程选取本土植被, 采用活枝扦插、活枝柴笼和灌丛垫三种主要的土壤生物工程技术构筑河道边坡。考察了工程实施前后河道坡岸植物新生根生物量、植物多样性、土壤剪切力、土壤紧实度和土壤湿度等生态参数, 结果表明, 工程实施10个月后, 与裸露坡岸相比, 施加土壤生物工程技术的河道坡岸稳定性大大提高, 土壤抗侵蚀能力增强, 物种增加, 生物栖息环境和人居环境得到改善。该工程及研究为上海市浦东新区河道整治和坡岸生态修复提供了示范, 也为我国各类边坡的侵蚀控制和生态修复提供了新的工程技术和方法。;Soil bioengineering is the use of living plant materials to construct structures that perform some engineering and ecological functions and can provide an effective means for slope stabilization and site restoration of riverbanks. The demonstration project was introduced that first applied large scale soil bioengineering to riverbank restoration at the Airport Town, Shanghai. The soil bioengineering techniques such as live staking, live fascines, brush layer with native pioneer species were integrated for riverbank preservation in the project. Ecological parameters including root characteristics and their biomass, species diversity, habitat, shear stress, soil tightness and soil moisture were measured for site characterization and evaluation of a demonstration project. Compared to the control site, the riverbank erosion was reduced significantly, along with an increase in species diversity and habitat, and improvement in aesthetics and inhabited environment after a ten-month project implementation period. The bioengineering techniques and experience from the restoration project at the Airport Town of Shanghai could have been applied to Chinese practices of a variety of slops erosion control and ecological restoration of riverbanks.