Abstract

The main source of finance for this report was the Swedish Rail Authority (Banverket), with the Swedish Roads Authority (Vägverket) as co-financier. The report deals with the control of woody vegetation on railway embankments and road verges. The report is a literature review, based primarily on sources from research databases within the areas of agriculture and forestry. Literature searches were carried out between 1998 and 2001. The main issues studied were: - Overall maintenance strategies for railway embankments and road verges. - Technology and methods for clearing railway embankments and road verges. - Development of existing vegetation with the aim of optimising maintenance inputs. Maintenance planning, clearing of trees and brush and development of existing vegetation are the themes that have received the greatest attention in this report. However, soil covering using succulent plant species (Sedum) on dry plant beds, chemical control measures and biological control using the fungus Chondrostereum purpureum are also discussed. The most important findings as regards maintenance planning were that case-specific inventory and classification are essential and that long-term maintenance targets must be established. With regard to clearing of trees and bushes, the conclusions were that the clearing to a low stump height tends to be the most effective control measure and that selective clearing has a number of advantages but requires smaller machines than conventional clearing Development of existing vegetation often involves very complex processes that are hard to control using short-term maintenance regimes. If grass seed is to be sown in and along railways, dwarf slow-growing species should be used to eliminate the need for mowing. In embankments and verges dominated by heather and crowberry species, selective manual-motor clearing should be used to protect these shrubs since they can almost certainly inhibit the growth of other woody plants. Prefabricated or site-constructed sedum vegetation is suitable for dry, gravelly areas such as embankment areas and dry road verges. A certain noise-dampening effect has also been reported from trials using sedum matting within the actual track. Selective chemical control in combination with mechanical control is well documented in a number of surveys in rights of-way in North America. Biological control of stumps using Chondrostereum purpureum has proven very effective on certain tree species. The establishment of safety zones around fruit growing areas will probably be required if the fungus is to have a future as a biological control organism in conventional control procedures. Maintenance planning and biological control, as well as chemical and mechanical treatments, are areas which would appear to be of particular interest for future studies.

Keywords

vegetationsreglering; skötselstrategier; järnväg; skötselmetoder; selektiv röjning

Published in

Rapport - Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, Institutionen för lantbruksteknik
2001,
Publisher: Institutionen för lantbruksteknik, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/125790