Native Roadside Vegetation that Enhances Soil Erosion Control in Boreal Scandinavia

Annika Jägerbrand,Juha Alatalo

doi:10.3390/environments1010031

Annika Jägerbrand, Juha Alatalo

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/environments1010031

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Abstract

This study focused on identifying vegetation characteristics associated with erosion control at nine roadside sites in mid-West Sweden. A number of vegetation characteristics such as cover, diversity, plant functional type, biomass and plant community structure were included. Significant difference in cover between eroded and non-eroded sub-sites was found in evergreen shrubs, total cover, and total above ground biomass. Thus, our results support the use of shrubs in order to stabilize vegetation and minimize erosion along roadsides. However, shrubs are disfavored by several natural and human imposed factors. This could have several impacts on the long-term management of roadsides in boreal regions. By both choosing and applying active management that supports native evergreen shrubs in boreal regions, several positive effects could be achieved along roadsides, such as lower erosion rate and secured long-term vegetation cover. This could also lead to lower costs for roadside maintenance as lower erosion rates would require less frequent stabilizing treatments and mowing could be kept to a minimum in order not to disfavor shrubs.

Highlights

Roadsides are unique manmade environments that are located in the zone between the road surface and the adjacent landscape
There was significant greater cover of evergreen shrubs (p = 0.027), total cover (p = 0.011), and biomass (p < 0.0001) in the non-eroded sites compared to sites with erosion (Table 3)
There were no significant differences found in the cover of other functional groups, the number of species, or in the diversity (Table 3)

Summary

Introduction

Roadsides are unique manmade environments that are located in the zone between the road surface and the adjacent landscape They serve several functions for humans, e.g., providing a security zone both in terms of enhancing traffic visibility and for vehicles going off the road and play an important role for the control of soil erosion and slope stabilization [1]. Road maintenance strategies often fail to incorporate goals and management plans that secure long-term vegetation cover in the roadsides. This is evident by the lack of studies on how to select local native plants for a self-sustaining vegetation cover [5]. Instead, seeding with fast growing (non-native) annual grasses is often used to control erosion of newly constructed roadsides [6]

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Discussion

Conclusion