Typology, locational requirements and management of berm and dike vegetation

Berms and dikes are minor landscape features of incalculable ecological value. They can serve as a habitat, a stepping stone, a linking route or a fallback location, or form part of a biotope for a species. Moreover, berms can contribute to ecological processes such as pest control or pollination. This makes them an important element of the green infrastructure. In addition to their ecological interest, berms and dikes along watercourses have a civil engineering value because of their role in holding in the water. The project ‘Typology, locational requirements and management of berm and dike vegetation’ includes various forms of advice, monitoring and research relating to vegetation on berms and dikes along waterways managed by De Vlaamse Waterweg nv (before 2018: W&Z) in the Scheldt and IJzer basin. Through the definition of berm management plans, environmental goals are set and management advice is formulated. The evolution of berm vegetation over time is verified through ecological monitoring. Research builds up knowledge of locational conditions and erosion resistance of different types of berm vegetation and the effect of different forms of management on species composition, biomass quantity and a number of phenological or structural aspects of berm vegetation.