ABSTRACT
7th International Symposium on Environmental Concerns in Rights-of-Way Management

TITLE:

The Motorway's Green Zones: New Habitats in Landscape Ecology

AUTHOR(S):

Henri Coumoul - alene.vinel@asf.fr
service Nature et Paysages d'Autoroutes du Sud de la France
(The Southern France Motorway's Nature and Landscape Department)
Cedex, France

As it is extremely difficult to recreate a quality landscape, the designers of these landscapes need to have an absolutely perfect knowledge of the vegetation. The extent of their knowledge will play an important role in the success of the developments and landscaping.

However, even if the young plantations are adapted to the constraints, they cannot constitute by themselves a biologically rich habitat able to blend in the long term into an environment crossed by a motorway.

One must also count on nature to help complement the basic development work carried out and do its share in giving these green zones the biodiversity which is so very important in order that they become "self-managed".

Due to our experience concerning the evolution of motorway landscapes from 1965 onwards, when we assessed all the potentials, we started up an extremely precise management of these green zones in 1978. This was to encourage the return of the natural vegetation and to ensure the continuity of this vegetation in these regained green zones.

To carry out the above, a series of strict measures were taken and are stated in the document "Guide d'entretien des dépendances vertes" ("the guide to the upkeep of the motorway's green zones") such as:

  • reducing grass cutting and weeding;
  • almost total suppression of phytosanitary treatment;
  • manual maintenance of fences and ditches;
  • training of specialised staff in each district for the follow-up of what we now call "écolisières", with 50 to 60 people trained in the company;
  • the recruitment of an environmental manager for each region (since 1994).

A research programme carried out over a period of 3 years with the CNRS of Chizé, called "Biodiversité et dynamique écologique des dépendances vertes autoroutières comparées aux milieux traversés" (the biodiversity and natural ecology of the motorway's green zones compared with the environment crossed"), confirms all the benefits of this management which optimises the ecological role of these new habitats.

Three scientific reports resulting from these works have already been published:

  • "Végétation des dépendances vertes autoroutières: influences d'un mode de gestion extensif et du milieu traversé"
    Francis Meunier, Christelle Gautriat, Christophe Verheyden, Pierre Jouventin.
    Revue d'ecologie Terre et Vie, Volume 53, no 2 - 1998, pages 97-121.
  • "Effects of landscape type and extensive management on habitat selection by small mammals of motorway verges"
    Franis Meunier, J. Corbin, Christophe Verheyden and Pierre Jouventin. Canadian Journal of Zoology.
  • "Bird communities of highway verges: influence of adjacent habitat and roadside management"
    Francis Meunier, Christophe Verheyden and Pierre Jouventin. Acta oecologica 20-1999, pages 1-13.

As well as two ASF books:

  • "Guide d'entretien des dépendances vertes"
    Henri Coumoul et Philippe Chavaren - 1992

·                    "Nature, Paysage et Autoroutes: la vic cachée des dépendances vertes"
CEBC-CNRS - 79360 Villiers-en-Bois - 1998

Ref#: Abs-1-134