Documenti di Didattica
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Documenti di Cultura
DECEMBER 1992
VOLUME 10 SECTION 1
PART 2 HA 56/92
CHAPTER 6 RETAINING EXISTING VEGETATION
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6.5 INSTANT MATURITY
Good practice: A69, Brampton Bypass, Cumbria Mature trees have been retained within
the working area of viaduct construction by co-operation between designers and contractors
A23, West Sussex Mature trees have been retained in a wide central reserve, giving instant
maturity to landscape: see also Pt 1, Ch 12
6.6 EXPOSING A NEW WOODLAND EDGE
Where a road has to pass through a woodland the trees at the newly exposed centre, which
are usually tall and slender with narrow crowns, can be blown over in strong winds.
Poor practice: new residential road, Hampshire Exposure of the dense, leggy plantation
has given a very unattractive result
Good practice Careful thinning in
advance of road construction has
produced an attractive and more stable
edge
Points of good practice are
llustrated here. Scarification can play an
important part in preparing ground
intended to develop as woodland edge
DECEMBER 1992
VOLUME 10 SECTION 1
PART 2 HA 56/92
CHAPTER 12 EFFECTIVE TREE AND SHRUB ESTABLISHMENT
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This section is a brief aide memoire for details of current planting and establishment.
12.1 DISTANCE FROM THE CARRIAGEWAY
Shrubs must be not planted within 3 m of the carriageway and trees not within 5 m of it.
12.2 PLANT SIZES
Bare-root transplants, 450-900 mm high, for shrubs and trees are the recommended size and
specification, except for evergreens which should be container-grown and can be used at smaller sizes.
Plants taller than 900 mm are not recommended except where light, feathered trees are needed for early
impact. Trees taller than this will provide short-term benefit only. The special case of the use of larger
stock in relation to motorway widening is dealt with in Section 3: Pt 1 and avenues are discussed in Ch 5.
12.3 STOCK HANDLING
Bare-root plants must be protected from drying out right up to the time that they are put into the ground.
Forestry bags are recommended.
12.4 PREPARATION
The growing medium needs to be cultivated to a depth of 450 mm to allow adequate tree and shrub
growth. Where this is not possible, there is no point in creating planting pits extending into compacted
layers.
12.5 PRE-PLANTING WEED CONTROL
Before planting into a dense grass sward or weed-infested area, a herbicide spray must be used to give a
weed-free planting area of at least 750 mm diameter for each plant.
12.6 TIME OF PLANTING
Planting is best carried out in November and December. Planting from January to March can be much
less satisfactory and it should not take place after the end of March.
12.7 FERTILISERS
On most disturbed soils, an overall base application of a balanced granular fertiliser should be given at
the manufacturers recommended rate, either incorporated into the surface, or as a top dressing.
12.8 PLANTING METHODS
Pit planting is generally recommended. Pits should be 300 x 300 x 300 mm with the sides and bottom
broken up. The back-fill material should be 75 percent topsoil, or approved subsoil (see Ch 13) and 25
percent bulky organic matter. The latter will vary from one part of the country to another because of local
availability.
12.9 TREE SHELTERS
These should generally be used only on exposed sites or where rapid establishment is imperative.
12.10 WEED CONTROL
The importance of a high standard of weed control cannot be over-emphasised. A 750 mm diameter area
around each plant should be weed free at the start of the growing season and be maintained that way.
Where ornamental planting is appropriate, such as at roundabouts, a blanket mulch of course bark or
similar material may be required. In rural areas chemical weed control is recommended, in preference to
mulch mats or other physical methods.
12.11 PEST CONTROL
It is necessary to protect woody transplants on sites where rabbits, hares, voles or deer are present. The
type of protection to be used (eg individual guards or fencing-off planting blocks) will depend on the size
of area and abundance of the pests. Guidance can be found in the relevant Forestry Commission
publications.
12.12 STAKING
Staking is unnecessary for the sizes recommended and prevents proper establishment of smaller trees
and shrubs. It should only be used for larger sizes. Stakes should be no taller than one quarter the height
of the tree.
12.13 PLANTING AND THINNING GRIDS
DECEMBER 1992
VOLUME 10 SECTION 1
PART 2 HA 56/92
CHAPTER 13 SOILS
13/1
13.1 PRINCIPLE
The handling, storage and preparation of soil is the most important factor in establishing vegetation, since
mistakes can rarely be put right. Engineers are interested in the physical properties of soil as a
construction material, so detailed information about the mechanical properties of the available soil is
obtained for constructing a road. However, as soil is also a complex biological system supporting plant
growth, an equal understanding of its biological system supporting plant growth, an equal understanding
of its biological properties is needed for successful vegetation establishment.
13.2 KEY ISSUES
For each soil type to be stripped and respread, the topsoil and subsoil layers need to be identified and
clearly defined. A strategy for their use and storage must be developed before the contractor moves onto
a site.
Topsoil is needed to grow trees and shrubs, but usually in only very limited quantities for grassland
establishment.
Soils for reinstatement should be those derived from the site and no soil should be moved from the site
until it is clear that all the resoiling requirements can be met from this source. If soil has to be imported it
must be the right one for the vegetation being planted or sown.
Clear guidance on soil-handling constraints, particularly under wet conditions, must be available to the
contractor and resident engineer.
The risk of surface soil slippage can be reduced by producing a very rough finish to the formation to allow
the surface soil to key into it, and by ensuring that the soil is sufficiently uncompacted to allow roots to
penetrate to the full depth of the soil profile and have maximum lateral spread within it (see Steep Slopes,
Ch 11).
13.3 UNDERSTANDING TOPSOIL AND SUBSOIL
Soils vary greatly in their characteristics, depths and vertical structures. A soil under mature woodland
or permanent grassland consists of layers, referred to as its A, B and C horizons, over bedrock.
Horizons A and B are suitable for tree and shrub growth and in some circumstances, especially when
mixed with ameliorants, C may be suitable. The materials from some B and C horizons are suitable for
establishing species-rich grassland (or heathland on sandy soils).
However, soils vary greatly from this typical pattern and each site must be investigated.
It is essential that the characteristics of all the soils along the line of the route are taken into account with
the advice of a soil scientist and horticulturalist. Definition of soil should not be based on arbitrary depths.
13.4 USING THE RIGHT TOPSOIL
Soils can vary considerably along the line of a route. It is essential to keep these different soils separate
and restore them to the right parent area. This will ensure that the roadside vegetation marries with its
surroundings.
13.5 AMELIORATING THE SOIL
When a subsoil has insufficient structure to allow plants to establish (eg a heavy clay), incorporation of
other material to ameliorate it can be much more effective than the expensive process of importing new
topsoil. Suitable ameliorants can, under appropriate circumstances, range from bulky organic matter,
such as approved sewage sludge, to inert materials such as pulverised fuel ash, which open out the
subsoils structure.
13.6 SOIL STRIPPING AND STORAGE
The subsoil and topsoil should be stripped and stored separately under favourable weather conditions so
that a proper soil profile can be re-established. Storage-mound depth is related to the method used to
make it. Loose tipping is the ideal way to make a storage mound, when it may be up to 4 m high at the
centre of the tipped heaps. Otherwise, mounds should not exceed 2 m in height The structure of clay
soil, in particular, is irreversibly damaged by stripping when it is too wet. The contract should specify that
soils with a clay fraction of more than 25 per cent should not be handled when their moisture content
exceeds a specified level.
Once completed, soil mounds must not be trafficked by any machinery and should be kept free of
injurious weeds by the application of herbicide if necessary. If they are to be left for longer than nine
months they should be sown with annual rye-grass or another appropriate species.
13.7 SOIL SPREADING
The formation on which soil is spread must have the surface roughened to 150 mm deep, to allow it to
key in properly. The same constraints apply to spreading soil as apply to stripping it. Appropriate
machinery with the lightest possible footprint must be used. Compaction must be avoided.
13.8 ALLEVIATION OF COMPACTION
Sites that have become compacted, such as contractors compounds, require breaking up before tree
planting can take place. They should be ripped with tines not further apart than 750 mm to be depth of
450 mm in two passes at right angles. If this is not possible, shallower ripping should be carried out and
consideration given to shrub or grass establishment only.
Excavation of pits into compacted surfaces is not recommended, since plants roots will only grow within
the area of the excavated pit. This is likely to become waterlogged and the roots will die.
13.9 SOIL DEPTHS
The standard depth for soil for tree and shrub establishment is 300 mm over the 150 mm roughened
formation surface. This will not allow very large trees to develop in the way that they would on natural
soils and this must be taken into account in design and management. In special circumstances, such as
the rapid establishment of screening on level sites a greater depth may be possible. This is described in
Section 3: Pt 1.
Topsoil is generally not required for grass establishment (see Ch 10). However, where a dense sward
that will require regular mowing is necessary, topsoil depth should not exceed 100 mm. Deeper soil
leads to excess growth and hence the need for increased maintenance.
13.10 RESTORATION TO AGRICULTURE
Restoration to productive agriculture is an essential part of good practice. Land is acquired under license
with the compulsory purchase order and offered back to the farmer on completion. The restoration
needs to be to a high standard not only to ensure it fits with the surrounding landscape, but also to
ensure that the landowner will take it back. A widely accepted code of practice has been developed by
the minerals extraction industry.
Volume 10 Section 1
Part 2 HA 56/92
December 1992 14/1
14. ENQUIRIES
All technical enquiries or comments on this Advice Note should be sent in writing as appropriate to:-
Head of Highways Policy and
Environment Division
The Department of Transport J ROBINS
2 Marsham Street Head of Highways Policy
London SW1P 3EB and Environment Division
The Deputy Chief Engineer
The Roads Directorate
Scottish Office Industry Department
New St Andrews House J INNES
Edinburgh EH1 3TG Deputy Chief Engineer
Head of Roads Engineering (Construction) Division
Welsh Office
Y Swyddfa Gymreig
Government Buildings
Ty Glas Road B H HAWKER
Llanishen Head of Roads Engineering
Cardiff CF4 5PL (Construction) Division
Superintending Engineer Works
Department of the Environment for
Northern Ireland
Commonwealth House
Castle Street D OHAGAN
Belfast BT1 1GU Superintending Engineer Works
Orders for further copies should be addressed to:
DOE/DOT Publications Sales Unit
Government Buildings
Block 3, Spur 2
Lime Grove
Eastcote HA4 8SE Telephone No: 081 429 5170
Chapter 14
Enquiries