IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i6p2444-d1609717.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Novel Application of a Geosynthetic as Vegetation Substrate for Ecological Restoration on Steep Concrete and Rock Slopes

Author

Listed:
  • Jun Guo

    (College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China)

  • Tao Qiu

    (College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China)

  • Leyao Chen

    (College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China)

  • Zhuoxuan Chen

    (College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China)

  • Zhao Liu

    (CHN Energy Dadu River Zhensha Hydropower Construction Management Branch, Leshan 614700, China)

  • Jiajun Liao

    (College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China)

  • Jingying Chu

    (Tencate Industrial Zhuhai Co., Ltd., Zhuhai 519050, China)

  • Yunhui Zhou

    (Tencate Industrial Zhuhai Co., Ltd., Zhuhai 519050, China)

  • Bingfa Zou

    (Tencate Industrial Zhuhai Co., Ltd., Zhuhai 519050, China)

Abstract

Civil, transportation, and hydraulic projects often result in concrete or rocky slope surfaces that have difficultly sustaining vegetation due to the lack of suitable substrate. A geosynthetic-based vegetation substrate was proposed to replace traditional soil-based vegetation substrates for vegetation restoration on steep concrete or rock surfaces. The geosynthetic vegetation substrate (GVS) provides the following four key functions for vegetation restoration: 1. Germination environment for seeds. 2. Room for root development and vegetation fixation. 3. Allowing water and nutrients to be transported and stored within the substrate. 4. Sufficient strength to support vegetation on steep or vertical surfaces. An 8-month field study revealed the following: vegetation leaf length peaked at over 400 mm by the 100th day, with annual fresh biomass reaching 2.99 kg/m 2 (94% from stems/leaves). The geosynthetics maintained 91.6% to 99.5% of initial tensile strength and 82.9% to 98.2% creep resistance. These findings establish GVS as a viable solution for ecological restoration on engineered slopes.

Suggested Citation

  • Jun Guo & Tao Qiu & Leyao Chen & Zhuoxuan Chen & Zhao Liu & Jiajun Liao & Jingying Chu & Yunhui Zhou & Bingfa Zou, 2025. "The Novel Application of a Geosynthetic as Vegetation Substrate for Ecological Restoration on Steep Concrete and Rock Slopes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-17, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:6:p:2444-:d:1609717
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/6/2444/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/6/2444/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hwang-Hee Kim & Chan-Gi Park, 2016. "Performance Evaluation and Field Application of Porous Vegetation Concrete Made with By-Product Materials for Ecological Restoration Projects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-16, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hao Wang & Pen-Chi Chiang & Yanpeng Cai & Chunhui Li & Xuan Wang & Tse-Lun Chen & Shiming Wei & Qian Huang, 2018. "Application of Wall and Insulation Materials on Green Building: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-21, September.
    2. Hwang-Hee Kim & Chun-Su Kim & Ji-Hong Jeon & Seung-Kee Lee & Chan-Gi Park, 2017. "Performance Evaluation and Field Application of Red Clay Green Roof Vegetation Blocks for Ecological Restoration Projects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-16, February.
    3. Hwang-Hee Kim & Seung-Kee Lee & Chan-Gi Park, 2017. "Carbon Dioxide Emission Evaluation of Porous Vegetation Concrete Blocks for Ecological Restoration Projects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-13, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:6:p:2444-:d:1609717. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.