Geosynthetically reinforced vegetation is a cost-effective, environmentally friendly alternative to hard armor materials such as riprap and concrete for lining high velocity channels. The phrase "root reinforcement" has been used to describe the functional effect achieved with vegetation root growth into and through a geosynthetic turf reinforcement matting. In the past, reinforcing vegetation at the root structures was perceived as the only way t increase its damage resistance to high velocity water flow. Therefore, establishing a "root" reinforced vegetated lining on slopes and channels generally required the task of in-filling an installed turf reinforcement matting with topsoil and seed. Theoretically, this type of installation would insure that the initial vegetation root growth would obtain immediate reinforcement from the underlying matting. However, this method of installation does not fully utillize the erosion control and mulching function of the matting itself, since the in-filled soil is left exposed until vegetation establishment. With most common grass species taking up to two years to become fully established, effective immediate and long-term erosion control is often necessary to insure the successful development of a reinforced vegetated system. This paper presents a new method for developing geosynthetically reinforced turf which utillizes the immediate and long term erosion control function of the geosynthetic matting and maximizes the matting's capability for reinforcing mature vegetation.
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