Excelsior fascines offer reliable, sustainable protection
Wattwil/Chur/Canobbio - Excelsior fascines protect slopes and banks just as reliably as those comprising bundled branches. These fascines also impress on account of hassle-free formability and the fact that they can be easily combined with plants, according to findings from a study carried out by FHGR, SUPSI and Lindner Suisse.
(CONNECT) Fascines made from excelsior, a product also known as wood wool that is made from wood slivers cut from logs, can reliably and sustainably protect slopes and embankments, according to a press release issued by Lindner Suisse GmbH. The excelsior manufacturer from Wattwil in the Swiss canton of St.Gallen participated as an industrial partner in a corresponding research project conducted by the Institute for Construction in Alpine Regions (IBAR) at the University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons (FHGR) and the Institute of Earth Sciences (IST) at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI). In the project, which was supported by Innosuisse, the Swiss Innovation Agency, the Howolis Q excelsior fascines developed by Lindner were tested as an alternative to traditional fascines made of bundled branches.
The final report of the research project, which was carried out in practice between 2021 and 2023, is now available, Lindner explains. It concludes that the excelsior fascines are suitable as a form of sustainable and reliable protection for embankments along waterways. In this context, the press release highlights favourable aspects such as their positive ecobalance and the fact that the fascines can be shaped easily. Moreover, when the fascines are combined with living plants, they demonstrate particularly high stability and can provide long-term protection. “We are pleased that our product made from renewable local raw materials can make an effective contribution to ecological embankment protection”, as Thomas Wildberger, Managing Director of Lindner Suisse GmbH, states in the press release. ce/hs