ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Sometimes, even in areas with landslides and debris flow, erosion control and ground stabilisation can be effectively done by applying biotechnical and soil bioengineering methods alone, or, at least, in combination with geotechnically engineered systems. Such constructions contain live vegetation (grasses and legumes, trees, shrubs) or vital vegetation parts (cuttings, stakes, poles, branches). They provide several benefits (Lewis, 2000) and can be recognised as “constructions for a sustainable development”. The different bioengineering techniques can be traced back to ancient nations of Asia and Europe (Finney, 1993). Although they were excellently described, e.g. by Schiechtl (1980), Gray and Leiser (1982), Schiechtl and Stern (1992) or Florineth (2004), their application is rather rare in Slovakia. A bi-lateral project of the “Action Austria-Slovakia” No. 54s3 called “Geological Random Conditions of Bioengineering Slope Stabilisation Methods and their Sustainability” is intended to foster the confidence in these methods by showing some success stories from abroad and by explaining the reason, where Slovak attempts did not function properly.
