REVEGETATION TECHNIQUES ON CLAY SOIL SLOPES IN NORTHERN ITALY

Several standard techniques currently used in the reclamation and reve getation of former quarry land in Italy's northern Apennine region wer e compared. The trial site, a 40-degree slope with clay soil, high pH and a little organic matter, was arranged in a randomized block design . The techniques assayed were hydro-seeding + tillage, hydro-seeding o n sod, straw mulch + tar, jute mats + tillage + hydro-seeding, jute ma ts + tillage and a control. Each plot was enriched with equal amounts of chopped straw (120 g m(-2)), worm compost (140 g m(-2)) and the fer tilizer Biosol (R) (140 g m(-2)); the binder Terravest (R) (36 g m(-2) ) was also used in the three hydro-seeded plots. Ground cover, species , runoff and erosion were compared in each treatment. The overall 3-ye ar data indicate significant differences in the treatments tested. The re is a clear distinction between the treatments that promoted good gr ass cover growth and checked erosion (straw and tar, jute on tilled so il, and hydro-seeding on jute and tilled soil) on the one hand and the hydro-seeded treatments (on sod and on tilled soil), which showed no differences from control, on the other. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.