Revegetation of sites transformed by planning projects

Background and challenges

Revegetation has the potential to help to reduce the impact of planning projects on ecosystems. The choice of species and the origins of the plants to be included are key for the success of revegetation operations and to ensure that species adapt well against the backdrop of climate change.

As part of calls for projects, planners are now consulted to propose revegetation solutions that meet biodiversity challenges. The growing demand for local seeds for large-scale projects comes up against the limited production capacity of stakeholders in this budding sector in France.

Objectives

Through cross-disciplinary work, our main aim is to test various revegetation methods by means of an experimental approach as part of motorway planning projects. The goal is to meet developers’ technical requirements while innovating with environmental initiatives that promote biodiversity.

Secondly, we will strive to identify social and economic levers that may result in the development of local plant production sectors in France.

Lastly, we hope to launch in-depth debate on the scope for revegetation initiatives conducted as part of planning projects within land and species conservation programmes.