Reconciling road verge management with grassland conservation is met with positive attitudes among stakeholders, but faces implementation barriers related to resources and valuation

Abstract

Road verges could provide habitats for threatened grassland species, but current verge management is suboptimal for achieving this. Altering verge management to favor grassland species is possible but depends on stakeholder attitudes and valuation. We describe the attitudes of 373 Finnish road verge stakeholders toward grassland-friendly verge management and investigate the drivers underlying these attitudes. We also assess the perceived feasibility of different grassland-friendly management alterations and identify barriers facing their implementation. Gathered with online questionnaires, the data for the study comprises open-ended and Likert scale questions and was analyzed with multivariate methods and linear mixed models. According to the results, valued verge attributes, such as perceived species-richness and safety, and personal familiarity with biodiversity and semi-natural grasslands structure stakeholder attitudes toward grassland-friendly management. Specific management alterations, such as readjusted mowing schedules, are viewed with varying positivity, but insufficient resources and compromised traffic safety are perceived to hinder their implementation.

Identification of sensor technologies with the potential to support roadside ecosystem services

“…By allowing the vegetation to grow at a significant height, the roadsides can constitute a good refuge for wildlife [3]. This regime favors the development of the flora until its flowering and therefore offers a landscape with various colors [25]. This decision can also have negative effects as a lowering of the culture yield by spreading seeds in crops and of road users' security in some cases.…”

Greening urban road verges highlights diverse views of multiple stakeholders on ecosystem service provision, challenges and preferred form

“…They found stakeholders valued a more diverse array of ecosystem services than expected. Lampinen and Anttila (2021) examined the attributes driving Finnish road verge stakeholders' attitudes towards management practices in support of threatened grassland species and perceived barriers to their implementation. These studies illustrate how stakeholder groups can have shared and diverging opinions regarding the value of ecosystem services, and the need to understand these perspectives in order to support management and planning.…”

“…To date, documentation of the diverse stakeholder perspectives on the use and management of this complex, yet under examined urban verge space is still limited. Previous research has focused on the perspectives of residents (Rupprecht et al, 2015, Church, 2015, Marshall et al, 2020, the general public (Weber et al, 2014), the local municipal authority (Hoyle et al, 2017), and those tasked with road and environment administration and management (Lampinen and Anttila, 2021). In common with many cities, urban verges in Perth are managed by both public and private actors, which bears many opportunities but also challenges.…”