When a new E6 is to be built in forested areas where there has been no way before, it is clear that nature will be affected. Now a master’s degree project will look at what can be done to save plant diversity in such areas. Martine Alexandra Andersen Hennig studies plant ecology. She wants to find out if it is possible to save plants and flowers that are usually lost. – We got an excavator to help us bring four tonnes of soil down from Berkåk, she says. The master’s degree student was helped by an excavator to save the flower meadow at Berkåk. Photo: Privat Blomsterenga gets a second chance Now plants and soil have been set out in part of the University Park at NTNU in Trondheim. Although the season is almost over, there is still life in the plants in mid-September. Here, the flower meadow from Berkåk gets a second chance. – Here we have, for example, the flower grass stjerneblom. It is very nice for pollinators and thrives very well in the park. It has grown a lot this summer and seems to survive the move, says Hennig. The development company Nye Veier also supports the project. They hope this is something they can do more of in the future to save rare plants and growths. – After all, we must return the areas that are not used for road construction to new and green areas. Then moving is a very good option to look into, says project manager Per Kristian Skjølås. Nye Veier is building a new E6 in Berkåk. Photo: Private Placed in a grid In Høgskoleparken, Hennig keeps a close eye on the plants from Berkåk. In an orderly system, the 32 pieces of meadow are placed in a grid. Next to the park’s natural vegetation. – We have intact plots of land with plant communities that are already growing together. This means that we can preserve a great deal of the organism and microbial communities that have already been established. This makes it easier for the plants to survive. Only in the spring will we find out if the flower meadow from Berkåk survives the winter in the University Park in Trondheim. Martine Alexandra Andersen Hennig studies the plants in the flower meadow that she has planted out in Trondheim. Photo: Morten Andersen / news More sustainable road development Hennig hopes to get Nye Veier involved in moving plants and turf in connection with other road developments. On an even larger scale than the flower meadow from Berkåk. – I think there is potential here, and think we can learn a lot from this. In this way, we can make road developments more sustainable in the future, and compensate for the loss of nature. That’s why I dream of achieving this on an even larger scale, says Martine Alexandra Andersen Hennig.
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Moving turf 80 kilometers from Berkåk to save plants from road development – news Trøndelag
