Comparative study of the capacity of germination and of adhesion of various hydrocolloids used for revegetalization by hydroseeding

In order to optimize the revegetalization of damaged natural sites, it is s ometimes necessary to employ hydroseeding techniques which use colloidal co mpounds in order to favour the creation of a vegetative cover. To facilitat e the choice of the colloids to be used, we have tested the capacity of adh esion and germination of herbaceous seeds mixed with colloidal compounds be longing to diverse chemical families in both the laboratory and outdoor con ditions. Three commonly used species of herbaceous seeds usually found in t he revegetalization mixture were used for the tests. Most of the compounds tested showed positive action. With the laboratory experiments, the alginat es were most effective in improving germination and adhesion. With the outd oor experiments, the cellulosis compounds proved to be the most effective f or seeds adhesion, germination and to prevent erosion. An empirical mathema tical relationship was proposed between the viscosity of the solution and t he capacity of adhesion. The suggested tests are simple and may help in the choice of the most suitable colloids for the revegetalization process. Cop yright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.