Soil Bioengineering in Practice: CCLT 2011, Part 3

This section surveys soil-bioengineering structures and field examples, including reinforced earth walls, brush layers, live drains, gully breaks, palisades, pocket and joint planting, gravel-bar staking, monitoring, and maintenance.

48:29 · 257 slides · Historical presentation · No recorded narration

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About this presentation

Source: 2011 CCLT Bioengineering Course Part 3. Slides by David Polster; individual image and diagram credits remain in the presentation. This video includes the complete supplied deck. It is an archive slideshow, not a recording of the spoken conference session.

Dates, costs and examples reflect the original presentation. Treatment suitability depends on current site conditions and requirements.

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  1. Natural Processes Part 3
    Mew Gull

  2. Live reinforced earth walls (LaREWs)

  3. LaREW

  4. LaREW – Cuttings going into slope prevent circular failures

  5. Live reinforced earth walls (LaREWs)

  6. LaREWs growing

  7. LaREWs used for gully filling

  8. LaREWs growing

  9. LaREWs early spring without leaves

  10. Nile Creek erosion gully

  11. Nile Creek erosion gully
    April 9, 1997
    May 7, 1997

  12. Brush layer in fill

  13. Nile Creek erosion gully
    August 24, 1997

  14. October 9, 2005
    Nile Creek erosion gully

  15. This cutting planted November, 1987, grew during 1988 growing season and was excavated and photographed on February 27, 1989.

  16. Brush layers in a cut

  17. Roger’s Pass
    Peru
    Brush layers

  18. Brush layers
    Kemess Mine, Northern BC

  19. Kemess Mine, Northern BC

  20. Bamberton Beach Erosion

  21. Bamberton Beach Erosion

  22. Bamberton Beach Armoring

  23. Reference ecosystem

  24. This is a complex ecosystem that has developed within the disturbances of the coastal situation.

  25. Beach rye helps bind the logs together while beach pea provides the nitrogen.

  26. March 25, 2008

  27. March 26, 2008

  28. March 26, 2008

  29. March 30, 2008

  30. May 22, 2008

  31. May 22, 2008

  32. May 22, 2008

  33. May 22, 2008

  34. November 5, 2008

  35. January 7, 2009

  36. June 8, 2009

  37. April 18, 2010

  38. Smelter slope above Columbia River, Trail, B.C.

  39. Work started in spring 2006 along the toe
    Keep this view in mind

  40. Aerial tram used to haul materials
    Spring 2007

  41. Installing brush layers

  42. September 4, 2007

  43. August 11, 2008

  44. August 11, 2008

  45. July 2, 2009

  46. July 2, 2009

  47. Live Pole Drains

  48. Intersecting the water

  49. Installing Live Pole Drains, 1985

  50. Drains moisture immediately
    1986, first spring after installation

  51. Cuttings sprout and grow, 1988

  52. July 16, 1999

  53. Business end of live pole drain, July 16, 1999

  54. Still draining water after 14 years, July 16, 1999
    Note rock shape

  55. July 9, 2005

  56. August 1, 2009

  57. Business end of live pole drain, August 1, 2009

  58. Water flow area in a dry year, 24 years after installation, August 1, 2009

  59. Seepage water causing a problem on this trail – Spring 2008

  60. Ice still present on part of the slope – May 17, 2008

  61. Seepage coming from the bank above was freezing and covering the trail – May 17, 2008

  62. Seepage area exposed

  63. Live pole drain installed and seepage area covered with insulating layer

  64. Drain extended down the slope and into the culvert

  65. Seepage area growing – May 31, 2009

  66. Live pole drain growing – May 31, 2009

  67. Excess soil moisture, April 27, 1988

  68. Live pole drains installed in 1988, this photo taken August 27, 1992

  69. 3 live pole drains, August 27, 1992

  70. Live pole drains, July 16, 1999

  71. Live pole drains, July 9, 2005

  72. Large block slumping – treated with live pole drains, May 9, 1987

  73. Live pole drains, May 9, 1987

  74. August, 1987
    Drains sprout and grow

  75. August, 1992
    Continued growth of drains

  76. July, 1999
    Continued growth, no sign of block moving

  77. Continued growth, no sign of block moving
    July, 9, 2005

  78. Still growing, no sign of block moving
    August 1, 2009

  79. Two open slope slides into gullies

  80. Sidewalls can be treated with MBLs, but what about the gullies?

  81. Compacted till and rocks…

  82. Live gully breaks

  83. Live gully breaks act like check dams

  84. Like natural step-pools, this flow is no longer a torrent…

  85. Assisting in the recovery of degraded sites…

  86. Is this an effective silt control system???

  87. A high-tech solution… Live silt fences, February 20, 1992

  88. February 20, 1992
    Cuttings used to slow the flow and start the wetland successional processes

  89. May 11, 1992

  90. January 30, 1993

  91. April 9, 1997

  92. April 9, 1997

  93. How can we restore a wetland that has been lost due to construction of a drainage ditch?

  94. DFO has concerns

  95. Producers and MAL meet to discuss solutions

  96. Slow the water velocities

  97. By using woody pioneering species to slow the flows we prevent erosion and start the successional processes that will lead to wetland development.

  98. Cuttings starting to grow
    May 18, 2006

  99. June 18, 2007
    Hey, look at that, cattails have moved in!

  100. June 24, 2008

  101. May 12, 2009

  102. Live Palisades

  103. Live Palisades Cross Section

  104. Cottonwood poles are collected and soaked

  105. Excavator used to dig trench to water table

  106. Live palisade construction and live gravel bar staking

  107. Cuttings grow forming a wall of woody vegetation
    Mimics natural cottonwood stands

  108. Cottonwood growth after 3 years

  109. Germaine Creek, Fall, 2004
    Double row of live palisades

  110. Live palisades at Germaine Creek, September 8, 2005

  111. Live Staking, a simple but effective tool for a variety of uses

  112. Revegetating riverbanks, Elk River, 1977

  113. Pocket Planting

  114. Pocket Planting

  115. Pocket planting detail

  116. Pocket planting Seaton River August 15, 2002

  117. Pocket planting Seaton River June 13, 2006

  118. Joint Planting

  119. Joint Planting

  120. Joint Planting

  121. Joint planting detail

  122. Quadra Island riprap slope

  123. Blowing in soil using “Stone Slinger”

  124. Planting cuttings in soil pockets

  125. January 25, 2008

  126. January 25, 2008

  127. January 25, 2008

  128. January 25, 2008

  129. March 11, 2008

  130. April 26, 2008

  131. May 25, 2008

  132. May 25, 2008

  133. August 14, 2008

  134. December 18, 2009

  135. December 18, 2009

  136. December 18, 2009

  137. December 18, 2009

  138. June 29, 2010

  139. June 29, 2010

  140. June 29, 2010

  141. Contour Fascines

  142. Contour Fascines

  143. Building bundles

  144. Building bundles

  145. Moving bundles

  146. Preparing trench

  147. Laying in brush layer

  148. Brush layer backfilled

  149. Backfilled Fascine – placing marking stakes

  150. Completed contour fascine with brush layer

  151. September 18, 2009

  152. September 18, 2009

  153. Live Gravel Bar Staking

  154. Live Gravel Bar Staking

  155. Live Gravel Bar Staking, Oktwanch River, bare gravel bar

  156. Live Gravel Bar Staking, Oktwanch River, inserting cuttings

  157. Live Gravel Bar Staking, Oktwanch River, growing

  158. Starting to collect finer sediments…

  159. A tasty snack for these Roosevelt Elk…

  160. Installing cuttings on San Juan River bar March 12, 1998

  161. Cuttings growing
    May 19, 1998

  162. Sprouts collect small woody debris
    March 12, 1999

  163. Sediment collects in slack water behind small woody debris jams
    March 12, 1999

  164. Once twigs too small to collect debris, sediment collection stops
    March 12, 1999

  165. This leaves enough sticking out so that the cuttings can grow again the following summer
    June 29, 1999

  166. New plants and large woody debris, October 31, 2002

  167. Continued successional development
    June 2, 2006

  168. Understory starting to diversify
    June 2, 2006

  169. Western red cedar starting to appear

  170. As the gravel bar builds, the thalwag deepens, June 2, 2006

  171. Live Shade

  172. Live shade and live bank protection installed in September 29, 1999

  173. In July 2000, the cuttings had sprouted and were providing shade

  174. The following June 2001, the live shade was well established

  175. By August 2003, the live shade had pretty well covered the creek

  176. August 31, 2006

  177. Interior details…
    August 31, 2006

  178. January 27, 2009

  179. What plants can we use for soil bioengineering?

  180. Red-osier dogwood, Cornus stolonifera
    Pioneering species of course…

  181. Cottonwood, Populus balsamifera

  182. Willows (Scouler’s willow, Salix scouleriana)

  183. Sandbar willow, Salix exigua
    Rhizomatous

  184. Scouler’s willow, Salix scouleriana

  185. Pacific willow, Salix lasiandra

  186. Glaucous willow, Salix glauca

  187. Balsam willow, Salix pyrifolia

  188. Some don’t work…
    Dwarf snow willow, Salix nivalis

  189. Tools for soil bioengineering
    Cutting tools

  190. Cutting tools

  191. Tools for soil bioengineering
    Digging tools

  192. Pick / Grub hoe types

  193. Planting bars

  194. Planting bars

  195. Planting bars

  196. Monitoring Systems

  197. Monitoring is an integral part of any restoration project

  198. We use monitoring to tell us if we are on the right track

  199. Monitoring is used to measure progress

  200. Types of Monitoring:
    Implementation monitoring
    Effectiveness monitoring
    Validation monitoring

  201. Adaptive Management Loop

  202. Restoration Maintenance

  203. Designed to minimize the need for maintenance

  204. Should include options for maintenance

  205. Before re-planting, consider why the initial planting failed

  206. Successionally inappropriate species?

  207. Poor growth of this late successional species in an early successional site is not unexpected

  208. Consider natural processes to avoid this problem

  209. Design of Restoration Systems

    Treat the conditions of the site
    Account for successional changes in the vegetation
    Must be able to build it.
    Must be cost effective
    Consider future maintenance needs

  210. Presentation of Designs
    Goals and objectives
    General conditions of the area
    Specific site conditions, including problem identification
    Measures to be used to treat problem
    Site preparation (if applicable) including substrate (soil) use.
    Initial cover (species, planting, timing, etc.)
    Subsequent cover (planting, tending, etc.)
    Maintenance and inspections

  211. In addition to ecological values and other elements that are critical to restoration, personal and cultural values are essential as are…

  212. …the social values and…

  213. …the spiritual values.

  214. What role do spiritual values play in the restoration of difficult sites?

  215. I believe that we are connected with everything

  216. …and that this connection is what is meant by this “Spiritual” part of our world. I believe that there is this spiritual part in every person (thing) and from this belief stems the view that we can all connect directly with this spiritual part of the Universe.

  217. So when we work to restore damaged sites we connect with spiritual part of the site/organisms/ecosystems.

  218. Sometimes when I am in an old forest...

  219. ...beside a babbling brook...

  220. ...in a quiet wetland...

  221. ...in the alpine...

  222. ...or in a Garry Oak ecosystem in spring...

  223. ...I get a sense of this spiritual part of our world.
    By working to restore those that have been damaged, I can connect with this spiritual part.

  224. Natural processes provide solutions to even the toughest restoration problems

  225. Of course there are many other elements of restoration, but…

  226. … if you identify the filters, find and follow the natural solutions and build in the social and spiritual values, restoring difficult sites is relatively straightforward.

  227. My next challenge…

  228. Remember…
    Whatever you do… Have Fun!

  229. Questions ???

  230. Tomorrow we get to go play by the river…

  231. Let’s look at some sites near Quebec City to see if natural processes operate there as well…

  232. We see some examples of erosion…

  233. Is there a way we could have designed this project to increase erosion and sediment generation?

  234. Look at the sediment deltas…

  235. Can you see areas of active erosion?

  236. This is how we get to thousands of tonnes of sediment generated from a highway construction site.

  237. Even some of the older areas show continued erosion along with extensive use of “erosion control products”

  238. In the field we can look at a variety of sites for successional clues to restoration

  239. What are the invading species and the filters?

  240. What are the patterns of establishment trying to tell us?

  241. Can the distribution of some species offer clues to restoration?

  242. Are there patterns that suggest physical treatments?

  243. How about biological strategies?

  244. What can the plants tell us about filters and limitations?

  245. Are there plant shapes that hold clues?

  246. How do plants and rainfall interact to recharge groundwater systems?

  247. Can plant shapes suggest erosion control solutions?

  248. What about woody species shapes?

  249. What about sediment generation?

  250. Are there sites where active interventions are appropriate?

  251. What about sediment capture?

  252. Can we design ditch treatments that reduce road sediment generation?

  253. Can we learn how to use mosses for erosion control?

  254. What are sediment accumulations telling us?

  255. Are there areas of active erosion?

  256. Are there invasive species we should be concerned about?

  257. In addition to restoration things, what about the beautiful “spirit” of the place.

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