Roadside landscaping with native plants in the Czech Republic: a review

Abstract

Czech Republic has a unique experience in greening the roadsides. The changes that were implemented in the early 1990s have had also been incorporated into the roadside landscape in recent years making the Czech Republic one of the forerunners in greening the roadsides. Most of the roadside landscaping designs were inspired from western landscapes comprises mostly of exotic species, which do not reconcile with the environmental conditions of the Czech Republic. The intensive use of exotic species in artificial vegetation, high water requirements for the Czech Republic greenery with water shortages are causing major environmental and ecological challenges. Fortunately, the Czech Republic hosts a unique flora and fauna that show remarkable adjustment to harsh weather conditions. Here we emphasize the use of native plants due to their potential to develop roadside landscapes in water shortage conditions, leading to reduced water usage for roadside landscaping. The preservation of native biodiversity of the Czech Republic will be an added benefit. In this article the main aspects of the Czech Republic roadside landscaping efforts, with the associated water resources using native plants in landscaping, problems in promoting native plants contrast to non-native plants in landscaping and possible solutions are discussed.

Green Resources for Safety Improvement and Sustainable Landscape Design: The Case of a Dangerous Tehran-Dizin Road Bend

“…Regarding green barriers, results indicate that crown density, root penetration, and height of species are important factors for plant material to meet the safety, economic, and environmental requirements of a landscape design. Based on this, three native species have been chosen, accustomed to local climate and soil conditions so that costs, maintenance, and water consumption are minimized [72], and soil erosion, landslides, and slope instability decrease. The use of native plants can also be beneficial in conserving green resources as it would reestablish the native ecosystem and provide a natural look to roadsides [72].…”

“…Based on this, three native species have been chosen, accustomed to local climate and soil conditions so that costs, maintenance, and water consumption are minimized [72], and soil erosion, landslides, and slope instability decrease. The use of native plants can also be beneficial in conserving green resources as it would reestablish the native ecosystem and provide a natural look to roadsides [72]. This is consistent with Lucey and Barton research [31], scrutinizing the evolution of roadside landscape and different approaches towards vegetation management from past eras to to-date strategies.…”

Improving Campus Sustainability and Resilience by Selecting Climate - Appropriate Plants

“…These resilient plants require less water and maintenance, reducing the campus's environmental footprint and conserving valuable resources. Secondly, the use of native or drought-tolerant plants promotes water conservation and biodiversity [6,7,8 ].…”