Transcript Roads for Water and Resilience ROAD SIDE PLANTING

Training on
Roads for Water and Resilience
ROAD SIDE PLANTING
Benefits of road side planting (1)
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Reduced soil erosion: holds soils in place
Remove dust and other pollutants from the air,
protecting crops and road-side communities
Wind break
Flood control: slow and absorb road run-off
Benefits of road side planting (2)
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Improved water quality by vegetation’s ability to
trap sediment and increase water infiltration
Increasing road stability: vegetation helps to lower
local water tables that may affect the road
formation and pavement
Safety: reinforcing road alignment, serving as
crash barriers, protecting view planes and
reducing wind speeds
Carbon dioxide sequestration
Benefits of road side planting (3)
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Defence against invasive weeks
Provide important pollinator habitat (honey
production!)
Provide shade and keep the road cool for road
users
What can be the problems derived
from this road?
Retaining fine dust by roadside vegetation
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Dust is affecting the health of people living along the road
and crop productivity.
Identified as a top three problem from unpaved roads
Wind speed and turbulence
Case study Vaassen (The Netherlands)
Porosity (1)
A porosity of 35-50% is optimal in terms of influencing
turbulence
above: closed element (eg noise
barrier or a dense hedge.
middle: porous element (eg half open
hedge or row of trees with
undergrowth.)
below: incomplete element (eg line of
trees without undergrowth)
Porosity (2)
Height & width
To acomplish a good degree of porosity
elements should be approximately 5-20 meters wide
consisting of tall trees with a bush layer underneath.
Interception of fine dust
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Good conditions to intercept dust:
1. An irregular structure of the vegetation
2. Micro relief leafage
3. Pointed shape such as needles
4. Sticky, rough and hairy characteristics of
leafs
Planning steps
1. Analyze the situation with respect to social,
economic and ecological aspects of roadside
planting: ownership, proximity to villages and
farmland, availability of water resources
2. 2. To assess the vegetation and biophysical
conditions
3. 3. To map out strategies for effective planning and
implementation
4. 4. Develop a good management system
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Assessing biophysical factors
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Climate data
Water resources available
Soil physical and chemical properties
Major stress factors with respect to survival of planted
seedlings: drought, salinity, herbivores (domestic, wild
animals), wind, fire, insect and diseases, human physical
damage (theft)
Local knowledge on improving planted seedlings
survival and tree management
Local people species selection criteria
Importance of biophysical conditions
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Species-site matching significantly determines the
success of planting
Rainfall and temperature: length of the dry
season determines the suitability of a site for
roadside planting
Altitude
Vegetation: observe indigenous trees
Stakeholder consultation
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Increase participation
Disseminate information
Understand the attitude of the community towards roadside
planting
Collect data and information on community characteristics
and identify community concerns: issue of dust on feeder
roads, erosion…
Understand private and public ownership of land including
ownership by road authorities
Why were these trees lopped?
Criteria for selection of trees
Tree species shall preferably be:
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unpalatable
evergreen or remain green over most of the year
shall have a crown architecture with more horizontal than vertical
extension
tolerant of seasonal drought and insect and pest harms
deep rooted to resist wind power
shall not be invasive
fast growing
shall have one or more of social and economic values such as
medicinal, food, fuel wood, feed, shade, etc
Local people species selection criteria
Native plants are best suited to the local
conditions, require less maintenance and
persist longer than non-local species
Picture: Euclea racemosa
Some useful trees and shrubs for roadside planting
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Ziziphus spina-christi
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Spiny shrub
Very good for high quality
honey production
Firewood, charcoal, timber
Some useful trees and shrubs for roadside planting
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Grevillea robusta
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Firewood, charcoal, timber
(furniture), poles, fodder
(leaves), bee forage, shade,
ornamental, soil conservation,
windbreak.
Tree grows well with food
crops if managed to reduce
shade.
Some useful trees and shrubs for roadside planting
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Justicia schimperiana
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Leafy shrub up to 4 m
Firewood, live fence
Evergreen
Some useful trees and shrubs for roadside planting
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Schinus molle
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Evergreen tree
Firewood, charcoal, bee forage,
shade, soil conservation,
windbreak.
Some useful trees and shrubs for roadside planting
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Casuarina equisetifolia
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A tree up to 20 m.
Firewood, charcoal, timber
(construction), poles, fodder
(young leaves), shade,
mulch, soil conservation, soil
improvement, nitrogen
fixation, windbreak.
Criteria for identifying planting sites (1)
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Planting sites shall be at reasonable distance from
farmlands as well as from the edge of the road
Sites shall have good access to water sources
Sites with established animal paths shall not be
considered
Sites with nearby households engaged in farming
or other activities shall be priorities
Criteria for identifying planting sites (2)
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Sites shall have access to nursery
Sites shall be close to an agriculture office
Sites shall not be severely degraded
Sites shall have a community with positive attitude to trees
and other vegetation
Take into account the effect of the shade on crops
(direction of the sun) when deciding location
Implementation phase
Nursery
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Healthy and vigorous seedlings are key for tree planting
success
Lack of quality seeds of some species is one of the
bottlenecks in the nursery management
Regular follow up of the nursery operations will ensure
production of quality seedling that fit to the present
objectives
Implementation phase
Site preparation
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Eliminate weeds: Competition from the roots of other plants
growing in the area slows the reestablishment of newly
planted tress’ roots.
Improve the soil: the soil must be loose enough (have
adequate pore space) for roots to penetrate and to provide
an ample supply of water and oxygen
Pre-prepare the planting holes
Implementation phase
Planting and tending
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Site preparation by digging of planting holes.
Most commonly, tree planting is conducted during
the wet season
Fencing around seedlings to protect from
herbivores
Maintenance (1)
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The most important element in planting survival
Do not establish a planting until the necessary resources for
maintenance have been arranged
Developing mechanisms that enhance the economical return
of tree plantation to ensure maintenance
Prevent livestock physical contacts with the seedlings and
dry season watering are vital
Maintenance (2)
Key elements
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Water: Trees and shrubs should be
watered thoroughly at the time of
planting and several times during the
early establishment phase
Pruning: It is important to develop
well-spaced structural branches early
in the life of a tree.
Mulch: helps hold moisture in the soil
and suppresses weed germination.
Waterpads: absorb water and
nutrients and provide everything
what plants need. 7 grams of
polymers absorb 1 liter of water
Management interventions
Develop a viable management arrangement
 Examples:
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1. Pay tree keepers a small amount on money for the
surviving seedlings after one year (India)
2. Bank providing loans to tree keepers for six to eight years
(tree maturity period) after this, tree is sold with 50% of
returns for the bank (Uganda)
3. People in nearby cities wanting to save money for the long
term give trees in custody to rural tree keepers, when the tree
is mature the benefits are shared (Indonesia)
Key factors for success:
1. Awareness creation
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For roadside planting
to succeed, it is vital to
create awareness on
actual benefits of tree
planting among
roadside communities
Provide more time and
resources for
community
mobilization and
awareness creation
works than actual
project implementation
activities (tree planting)
Key factors for success:
2. Participation
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Encourage full participation in project
implementation by national, district and
local authorities and communities
Consultation: selection of tree species
together with roadside communities and
local experts
Include minority groups and women
Opportunities in Ethiopia
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Tree planting is in line with on-going watershed
activities
Local population across road stretches is feeling the
pressures of deforestation and land degradation
Dust is a major health and farm productivity issue along
the fast expanding network of feeder road
Tree planting is an opportunity for employment
Supported by:
Developed by: