Bankside stabilisation through reed transplantation in a newly constructed Irish canal habitat

In January 1989 a major breach in an embanked section of the Grand Canal occurred. As a result, a 2.5-km long section required complete reconstruction. This work was completed in approximatley 12 months, at a cost of IR1.5 million. The canal was rewatered in March 1990. The banksides, above normal water level, were dressed with a layer of moss peat and seeded with a mixture of grasses. The grass roots failed to bind the peat to the sub-layer of Puddle Clay and significant erosion resulted in the season of treatment. In order to halt the harmful erosion and to expedite the natural reed colonisation process, roots and rhizomes from established monocotyledonous plant colonies, external to the canal, were acquired. This paper presents the findings from transplantation trials using Schoenoplectus lacustris, Glyceria maxima and Phragmites australis from river and lake habitats and comments on the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of this operation. The value of reeds in amenity watercourses is discussed.