Site selection

SITE SELECTION

Site selection for roadside vegetation should account for land ownership, the practicalities of roadside planting, and road user visibility and safety.

Land ownership

ownership of the land along the road should be established before developing roadside vegetation. Roadside plantings are often established within the rightof-way, also called the road reserve. This right-of-way is the land allocated and preserved by law for public use in road construction, maintenance, and expansion. In Mozambique, for instance, administração nacional de estradas (ane) has the mandate over these road reserves, especially for highways. ane is responsible for maintenance, bush clearing, and sanctioning the widening of the road, and for placing traffic signs and billboards. It is important that roadside plantings be aligned with plans for future road development and that trees, for instance, not be removed for road expansion soon after planting. In other cases, such as in unscheduled roads, the land along the road belongs to local communities and the planting of roadside vegetation needs to be coordinated with the roadside communities and land users. In general, close consultation and engagement with roadside communities and local governments is critical to the success of roadside vegetation efforts.

Practicalities of planting

Several considerations will aid planting of roadside vegetation and increase tree survival rates. The following criteria should be taken into account when selecting sites for roadside planting:

• Planting sites should have access to water sources, which may include water harvested from the roadside. • Sites with established animal paths should not be chosen because protecting saplings will be difficult. • Sites with nearby households engaged in farming or other activities should have priority. • Sites should preferably have easy access to a tree nursery. • nearby communities should have a positive attitude toward the benefits of the plantings (firewood, fruits, beekeeping). • Planting sites must be a reasonable distance from farmlands as well as from the edge of the road. The effect of shade on crops (sun direction) must be considered when choosing locations.

Visibility

Roadside tree planting can improve road visibility, but it can also obstruct views, a factor that should be considered in the selection of sites (figure 12.1).

Care should be taken when placing trees on bends. In general, no trees or shrubs should be planted on the inside of cut slopes around curves, nor should trees or shrubs be planted on the inside curve of an embanked road. However, trees planted on the opposite of these positions will enhance visibility and alert drivers to curves in the roads. no trees should be planted at intersections