SIMBIOSYS Project: Impacts of road landscape treatments on plant biodiversity within road corridors and adjacent ecosystems.
This page displays all of the metadata information which describes this resource. This metadata information provides details of: the owners and creators of this resource; download links to any files which are available for downloading; geographical and temporal information about the datasets or project in general; other information such as a description of the project, experimental techniques used, data download restrictions, etc.
View other resources on SAFER owned/managed by the owner of this resource.
Resource or Project Abstract
Ecological impacts of road construction on the wider landscape are considerable. Impacts on existing plant communities are particularly important in terms of their support and provision of ecosystem services. Road corridors crossing intensively managed agricultural land may offer potential refuge for native flora and may improve landscape connectivity. In 2006, Ireland?s National Roads Authority published an updated set of guidelines for road landscaping to be implemented along new national road schemes. In 2009 we made a large scale assessment, comparing pre-guideline landscape treatments with post-guideline ones, along the N25/N22 corridor between Rosslare and Tralee. Relative plant species richness of a number of pre-guideline and post-guideline landscape treatments (including horticultural planting and natural recolonisation) was quantified, and compared with adjacent land use (agricultural fields and semi natural sites). In addition, the contribution of the seed bank to overall biodiversity was assessed in order to enhance the quality of information on biodiversity which may not have been revealed in vegetation surveys. Finally, a major limiting factor preventing the establishment of species-rich semi-natural plant communities is high soil nutrient content, which is frequently a feature of agricultural soil. Such soils were the basis of pre-guidelines landscaping and their use is discouraged under the new guidelines. Thus we assessed the nutrient status (nitrogen and phosphorous content) of soils and examined relationships with roadside plant communities. On rock-scree road verges, there was little overall difference in the early stages of plant community development between areas planted with horticultural varieties and those left to natural recolonisation by plants. This has important implications in terms of financial cost (natural recolonisation represents a low/nil cost option) and the ultimate environmental sustainability of the landscape treatment used.The ultimate output is expected to inform those involved in the planning, design and maintenance of road schemes of a more sustainable way of creating and maintaining vegetation communities in the road corridor.
Go back to top of page Top
Contact Information for This Resource
Data, Files, Information Objects Related To This Project Resource
There are currently 0 data files and/or information objects connected to this resource. You will need to contact the owners of this resource to enquire if data files and/or information objects will be made available to the public in the future. Contact information for the owners of this resource can be found in the Responsible Parties information section of the metadata.
Go back to top of page Top
Access Information For This Resource
SAFER-Data Display URL | https://eparesearch.epa.ie/safer/iso19115/display?isoID=3036 |
Resource Keywords | Biodiversity, plants, road landscaping, soil nutrients, invasive species |
EPA/ERTDI/STRIVE Project Code | 2007-B-CD-1-S1 |
EPA/ERTDI/STRIVE Project Theme | Biodiversity |
Resource Availability: |
Semi-Private |
Limitations on the use of this Resource | Time restrictions based on publishing peer reviewed articles from this research are requested.
Please contact Rosalyn Thompson for more details rosalyn.thompson@student.ucc.ie |
Number of Attached Files (Publicly and Openly Available for Download): | 0 |
Project Start Date | Tuesday 1st April 2008 (01-04-2008) |
Earliest Recorded Date within any attached datasets or digital objects | Monday 1st September 2008 (01-09-2008) |
Most Recent Recorded Date within any attached datasets or digital objects | Sunday 30th June 2013 (30-06-2013) |
Published on SAFER | Thursday 24th October 2013 (24-10-2013) |
Date of Last Edit | Wednesday 4th December 2013 at 17:31:53 (04-12-2013) |
Datasets or Files Updated On | Thursday 24th October 2013 at 23:05:03 (24-10-2013) |
Go back to top of page Top
Geographical and Spatial Information Related To This Resource
Description of Geographical Characteristics of This Project or Dataset
In 2009 we made a large scale assessment, comparing pre-guideline landscape treatments with post-guideline ones, along the N25/N22 corridor between Rosslare and Tralee.
Go back to top of page Top
Supplementary Information About This Resource
In this section some supplementary information about this resource is outlined. Lineage information helps us to understand why this project was carried out, what policy or research requirements did it fulfil, etc. Lineage is important in understanding the rationale behind the carrying out of a project or the collection of a specific dataset etc. Links to web sites, applications, papers, etc are outlined to provide you with additional information or supplementary reading about the project or dataset
Lineage information about this project or dataset |
The SIMBIOSYS Project investigated the impacts that human activity have on biodiversity and ecological functioning, and the associated benefits of biodiversity to human society, that is, ecosystem services. Three expanding sectors of enterprise were addressed in the project: (i) the cultivation of bioenergy crops; (ii) the landscaping of road corridors; and (iii) the aquaculture of sea-food. Field-based studies quantified biodiversity at the genetic, species and habitat levels under current commercial regimes, compared with traditional practices, and investigated ecosystem service delivery in all three sectors. The SIMBIOSYS Project has been a four-and-a-half-year research effort, involving six leading academics in four institutions, six PhD students, eleven research assistants at graduate and postdoctoral level, more than twenty MSc and undergraduate students and many other academic collaborators, both in Ireland and overseas. |
Supplementary Information |
NONE |
Links To Other Related Resources |
SIMBIOSYS Project Website:
http://www.tcd.ie/research/simbiosys/ (Opens in a new window) SIMBIOSYS Synthesis Report: http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/research/biodiversity/strive115simbiosys.html (Opens in a new window) Links to papers from this research: http://www.tcd.ie/research/simbiosys/outputs/journal-papers/index.php (Opens in a new window) |
Any links supplied by the resource owner are stored such that they will open in a new window. Following such a link may lead to a 3rd party website over which EPA has no control in regards to contents or suitability.
Go back to top of page Top
The following is a list of similiar projects and resources on SAFER. Usually these resources share a similiar thematic area to the resource SIMBIOSYS Project: Impacts of road landscape treatments on plant biodiversity within road corridors and adjacent ecosystems. you are currently viewing. You can view the full description for these projects and resources by using the links supplied.
- Ecological impact of entomopathogenic nematodes used to control the large pine weevil, Hylobius abietis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) View Full Metadata Description
- BIOCHANGE: Biodiversity and Environmental Change an Integrated Study Encompassing a Range of Scales, Taxa and Habitats. View Full Metadata Description
- ECORISK View Full Metadata Description
- The CreBeo Soil Biodiversity Project View Full Metadata Description
- Nutrient and Ecosystem Dynamics in Ireland's Only Marine Nature Reserve (NEIDIN) datasets View Full Metadata Description
Go back to top of page Top