Evaluation of the success of the Romanche riverbank protection structure at the Livet dam, carried out using plant-based engineering techniques

Abstract

At the interface between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, riverbank plant engineering is inspired by and uses the natural capacities of plants as basic material for bank reconstruction. This alternative to civil engineering gives ecosystems a better capacity to return to more natural and above all more diversified systems. However, ecological restoration and particularly plant engineering techniques suffer from a general lack of evaluation of success and feedback on the development of species and the performance of different techniques. This article presents the approach adopted as well as the main results of monitoring the redevelopment of the banks of the Romanche River at the Livet dam (38), carried out using mixed techniques combining riprap and different plant engineering techniques. In particular, the authors have demonstrated the interest of using local species in plant-based engineering. Similar monitoring can be envisaged for other structures, by adapting the monitoring protocol to the types of vegetation and environment studied.