Plant Establishment Enhancement Technique for Shoreline Stabilization and Protection

by Keith Salvo, USDA, Raleigh, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Coastal Zone '93

Abstract:

Once established, vegetation is capable of significantly reducing erosion along streams, rivers, bays, sounds and other tidal shorelines. In the last 15 years, many attempts to establish vegetation in tidal areas using conventional planting techniques have failed or met with little success. The principle factor attributed to the failure of the plantings was the soil displacement and subsequent dislodgment of the newly planted vegetation by wave energy before the plants could become established. The Plant Establishment Enhancement Technique (PEET) is a simple economical method of helping plant material get established under adverse planting conditions. The method involves the use of appropriate plant material, soil at the site, soil amendments and sandbags. The soil, soil amendments and plant material are placed into the sandbags and the bags returned to the holes from which the soil was removed. The bags keep the soil, fertilizer and plant material intact long enough for the plants to become established. The root system easily penetrates the porous rot-resistant fabric and anchors the bag by quickly growing into the parent soil. Given proper maintenance, a dense stand of vegetation develops which helps to reduce wave energy and slows shoreline erosion rates.

Subject Headings: Vegetation | Shoreline protection | Erosion | Tides | River bank stabilization | Renewable energy | Coastal engineering

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