Stabilization of motorway slopes with herbaceous cover, Catalonia, Spain

We monitored several herbaceous species for revegetating motorway slopes in Catalonia, Spain, a Mediterranean country. Two main kinds of treatments were applied: hydroseeding on bare marl, chalk, and slates, and hydroseeding on embankments over gentler slopes, where soil materials previously removed were spread before hydroseeding. The greatest herbaceous cover was obtained by hydroseeding after soil replacement, and marl was the most suitable bare substratum for hydroseeding. Physical characteristics such as schistosity plane in slates and softness or surface irregularity in chalk determined the outcome of revegetation efforts. The most immediate stabilization of soils was obtained on southern exposures with autumnal applications. Grasses, markedly of the genera Lolium and Festuca, were dominant in the herbaceous cover at the end of the monitoring period. Natural invasive vegetation was composed of ruderal species, but no representatives of the adjacent forest or maquis community were found.