What is soil bioengineering

Soil Bioengineering is a set of Natural Engineering techniques used to stabilize slopes by combining inert elements such as stakes, locks, etc. with living elements, such as seedlings, grass, trees.

Therefore, soil bioengineering techniques are used to stabilize slopes, cut and fill embankments on highways, destroyed shores, river banks, landfills, gullies, among others.

What is soil bioengineering?

Soil bioengineering is a combination of techniques and methodologies that use green infrastructure and inert elements combined to create a structure capable of fulfilling an engineering function.

In particular, soil bioengineering is widely used to prevent the formation of gullies. This is achieved by stabilizing the slopes, preventing further wear. Furthermore, this technique helps to increase soil drainage and improve landscape aspects.

Currently, there are two main types of soil bioengineering techniques: vegetative methods and germinative methods. Vegetative methods apply stakes, beams and mats, among others, to stabilize the soil. Germination methods, as the name suggests, seek to generate favorable conditions for seed germination.

In this sense, inert materials (wooden stakes, staples, stones, cultural remains, etc.) are chosen based on technical characteristics, cost and availability in the region where the project is being conducted.

Similarly, living materials are selected according to their suitability for the biome and local legislation. This point is particularly important in the case of using exotic species, such as the one in question and following the recommendations of local legislation, especially in the case of species exotic to the local flora.

What are the benefits of soil bioengineering?

Soil bioengineering is an ancient technique for stabilizing soil and recovering degraded areas. There are records of different types of bioengineering techniques being used in Antiquity by civilizations such as the Chinese, Incas and Romans.

Therefore, these techniques have already proven their effectiveness. By using elements and materials that are abundantly available locally, soil bioengineering projects generally have the best benefit-cost ratio in programs that aim to protect the soil.

However, surface soil protection is not the only benefit promoted by soil bioengineering. There are also countless others for the ecosystem and local communities, such as:

• Protection against slips and collapses
• Noise absorption from factories, quarries and mines
• Sequestration (capture and storage) of atmospheric carbon
• Reduction of dust emission on dirt roads, mines and quarries
• Mitigating the effects of climate change by promoting shading and windbreaks
• Absorption of rainwater that could cause floods or carry mud that could invade homes

Thus, it is possible to consider soil bioengineering also as part of a sustainable development program, as in addition to being a biological solution, it has the potential to bring communities together and generate employment and income.

Therefore, we can see how much the technique helps in Degraded Area Recovery Programs, especially in risk areas such as gullies.

In these cases, depending on the size, it is important to combine this technique with other geotechnical strategies to promote safe stabilization of the slopes.

Do you want to know more about Degraded Area Recovery Programs? Read our article on the topic.