Articles

Soil water bioengineering to help improve the ecological connectivity of river banks

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Abstract

In urban areas, rivers and riparian ecosystems are often the only ecological corridors available for the movement of wildlife. Riverbanks are often stabilised by civil engineering works, which can lead to habitat degradation and loss of landscape connectivity. Soil water bioengineering structures are an alternative to riprap, as they maintain the quality of natural ecosystems using native plant species instead of rocks, but their potential positive impact on animal movements remains poorly understood. With the GéniTrame project, we designed a method enabling river managers to assess the potential gain in connectivity thanks to soil water bioengineering. Using four target vertebrate species with a wide range of dispersal abilities, we used landscape graphs to assess habitat connectivity under different contrasting riverbank scenarios. We showed that the restoration of small, well-chosen stretches of riverbank by means of soil water bioengineering structures could lead to major gains in connectivity for some species (beaver, common toad) but no gain for others (common sandpiper, ring-necked snake). The method used could help river managers wishing to integrate the landscape connectivity dimension into riverbank restoration work.

Authors


Étienne BONCOURT

etienne.boncourt@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8233-0190

Affiliation : Univ. Grenoble Alpes, INRAE, LESSEM, 38402 St-Martin-d'Hères

Country : France


André EVETTE

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0927-0037

Affiliation : Univ. Grenoble Alpes, INRAE, LESSEM, 38402 St-Martin-d'Hères

Country : France


Laurent BERGÈS

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0408-7900

Affiliation : Univ. Grenoble Alpes, INRAE, LESSEM, 38402 St-Martin-d'Hères

Country : France


Maria ALP

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4295-6361

Affiliation : INRAE, UR RiverLy, 69625 Villeurbanne

Country : France

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