Temporary Site Bunds
When site conditions mean that you cannot use on-site burial as an option for treating invasive plant infested soil, such as a high water table or the proximity of bedrock, it may be possible to create a temporary bund to contain the infested soil material. The purpose of the bund is to move the material to an area of the site that will not be used, and therefore buy time to allow for an on-site herbicide treatment programme in the bunded area. Typically, the bund will need to remain in position for at least 2 years to ensure successful treatment, following which, the material should be suitable for reuse.
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A 20m x 10m temporary bund facility Plants encouraged to regrow in bund
A temporary bund consists of a shallow area of contaminated soil, typically no deeper than between 0.5m and 1m, protected and isolated from the ground underneath by a proprietary root barrier membrane. The aim of this process is to concentrate the rhizome into the upper surface of the bund, where it is encouraged to grow, and can then be safely controlled by a conventional herbicide treatment programme. It is essential that the depth of the infested material does not excede the prescribed depth, since any rhizome that is deeper than this can become dormant and will only regrow when the bund material is disturbed again. If the quantity of material to be treated is very substantial, then the bund size can become very extensive and space may become the deciding factor for this being the preferred treatment option.