Railway Tracks - Habitat Conditions, Contamination, Floristic Settlement - A Review

Abstract

Apart from roads, railways are one of the principal means of transportation. The specificity of rail transportation causes some environmental problems. The study presents a review of the major environmental problems connected with railway transportation. The construction of railway tracks and properties of used materials, as well as the maintenance of railway infrastructure are responsible for the specific habitat condition with alkaline soil reaction and varying but rather high levels of nutrients, which favour plant encroachment and growth. The results of investigations described in this study show clearly that railway transportation causes typical organic and inorganic contamination. Among the most important railway pollutants are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and to some extent, polychlorinated biphenyls. The study also presents some information about the progress of floristic studies in operating and abandoned railway lines. In addition some trends in the transformation of the flora in abandoned railway areas are discussed: the retreat of alien species with a short life cycle, the encroachment of native perennial plants and an increase in the number of trees.

Analyses of the flora of railway stations in the Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“…In our study, therophytes were dominant in the life form spectrum, as has been previously reported for the flora of railway areas and other anthropogenic habitats subject to strong human pressure (see e.g., Kowarik & Tietz, 1986;Partsch & Karstner, 1995;Schinninger et al, 2002;Brandes, 2004;Galera et al, 2012). Plant characteristics such as a short life cycle and the ability to persist under dry conditions and high insolation enable these plants to grow and thrive along operating rail tracks.…”

“…In addition, the railway has greatly influenced the structure of local ecosystems, and the threats resulting from the fragmentation of natural and semi-natural biotopes (e.g., Gontier et al, 2006;Westermann et al, 2011). Railway stations, which are the major trans-shipment points for goods, are recognized as "hot spots" for expansion of synanthropic plants (Gilbert, 1989;Wiłkomirski et al, 2012). Plants in such extreme habitats prefer light and dry sites, and, in general, the flora is characterized by species with relatively low frequencies of occurrence (Galera et al, 2014).…”

Directions of changes in the flora structure in the abandoned railway areas

“…The consequences of migrations along railways ("ferroviatische Migrationen", Kopecky 1971;Brandes & Oppermann 1995) were presented in a number of papers (e.g. Brandes 1993a; Böhmer 2001;Büscher et al 2008;Wiłkomirski et al 2012) described the further fate of species spreading along the railways. After 180 years, railway tracks still act as an ecological corridor for new species of plants (Hohla et al 2000(Hohla et al , 2002Latowski & Musiatowicz 2005;Nobis & Nobis 2006).…”

Distribution and abundance of bee forage flora across an agricultural landscape – railway embankments vs. road verges

“…The classical niche theory demonstrates a positive relationship between species richness and habitat heterogeneity [37]. Indeed, diverse spatial configuration of microenvironmental factors is reported between south-facing and north-facing sides, or between the bottom and the top of the embankments [38]. Considerable temporal fluctuations in the microhabitat related to constant disturbance and/or succession are also frequently noted [39].…”