New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Road verges provide opportunity for wildflowers, bees and trees

Date:
May 25, 2021
Source:
University of Exeter
Summary:
Road verges cover 1.2% of land in Great Britain - an area the size of Dorset - and could be managed to help wildlife, new research shows.
Share:
FULL STORY

Road verges cover 1.2% of land in Great Britain -- an area the size of Dorset -- and could be managed to help wildlife, new research shows.

University of Exeter researchers used Google Earth and Google Street View to estimate that verges account for 2,579 km2 (almost 1,000 square miles) of land.

About 27% of these verges are frequently mown, 41% is wilder grassland, 19% is woodland and the rest is scrub.

There are "significant opportunities" to improve verges by reducing mowing and planting trees, the researchers say.

"Our key message is that there's a lot of road verge in Great Britain and we could manage it much better for nature," said lead author Ben Phillips, of the Environment and Sustainability Institute on Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall.

"About a quarter of our road verges are mown very regularly to make them look like garden lawns -- this is bad for wildlife."

Previous research has shown that reducing mowing to just once or twice per year provides more flowers for pollinators, allows plants to set seed and creates better habitats for other animals.

Phillips said: "Some parts of verges need to be mown regularly for safety, but many verges could be mown much less, and this could save money due to reduced maintenance costs.

"We found that only a quarter of frequently mown verges had trees, so there's potential to add trees and shrubs, which will also help to capture carbon.

"But tree planting must be done carefully to avoid damaging flower-rich grass verges, and to prevent any impacts on visibility for drivers, or damage to infrastructure from roots and branches."

Planting trees in some verges could provide a wide range of benefits for people, nature and the environment, and contribute towards the UK government's tree-planting ambitions.

As well as estimating land area of verges, the study found that 1.8% of Great Britain is covered by hard road surfaces.

The charity Plantlife is currently running a campaign called #NoMowMay, asking gardeners and councils to "lock up your lawnmower" for the month of May.


Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Exeter. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Benjamin B. Phillips, Anila Navaratnam, Joel Hooper, James M. Bullock, Juliet L. Osborne, Kevin J. Gaston. Road verge extent and habitat composition across Great Britain. Landscape and Urban Planning, 2021; 214: 104159 DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104159

Cite This Page:

University of Exeter. "Road verges provide opportunity for wildflowers, bees and trees." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 25 May 2021. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210525101606.htm>.
University of Exeter. (2021, May 25). Road verges provide opportunity for wildflowers, bees and trees. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 27, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210525101606.htm
University of Exeter. "Road verges provide opportunity for wildflowers, bees and trees." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210525101606.htm (accessed March 27, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES