Railroad ecology or railway ecology is a term used to refer to the study of the ecological community growing along railroad or

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

tracks and the effects of railroads on natural ecosystems. Such ecosystems have been studied primarily in Europe. Similar conditions and effects appear also by roads used by vehicles. Railroads along with roads, canals, and power lines are examples of

linear infrastructure intrusions Linear infrastructure intrusions into Ecosystem, natural ecosystems are man-made linear infrastructure such as roads and highways, Electric power transmission, electric power lines, Track (rail transport), railway lines, canals, Pipeline transport ...

Conditions

Railroad beds, like road beds, are designed to drain water away from the tracks, so there is usually a bed of rock and gravel resulting in fast drainage away from the tracks. At the same time, this drainage often accumulates in areas fairly near the tracks where drainage is poor, forming small artificial wetlands. These unnatural conditions combine to form different zones, some in which water is scarce, others in which water is abundant.

Maintenance

Railroad companies routinely clear-cut and/or spray with herbicide any vegetation that grows too close to the tracks. This favors vegetation that is able to respond favorably to clearcutting, and/or resist herbicides. On overhead electrified railroad lines, clear-cutting must be more extensive, vertically as well as horizontally, in order to prevent vegetation (especially tree limbs) from interfering with the pantographs on a moving train, breaking off and falling on the wires, or simply from

arcing An electric arc, or arc discharge, is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The electric current, current through a normally Electrical conductance, nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma (p ...

in proximity to high voltage transmission cables. The same vegetative selection processes described in the previous paragraph apply, but may additionally favor climbing vines due to the presence of catenary and transmission poles in addition to the wooden communications and signal pole lines which often exist(ed) along nonelectrified lines.

History

Historically, conditions along railroad beds were very different from today. Coal engines used to blanket the area with soot, favoring species adapted to these conditions (some of which only occurred naturally in volcanic areas). Newer engines produced a less remarkable environment, but many of the same plants have remained and adapted to this new environment.

Ecological effects

Invasive Species

Railway tracks (like roads and highways) are often colonized by non-native invasive species. In North America, such species include trees such as

Ailanthus altissima ''Ailanthus altissima'' , commonly known as tree of heaven, ailanthus, varnish tree, or in Chinese as ''chouchun'' (), is a deciduous tree in the family Simaroubaceae. It is native to northeast and central China, and Taiwan. Unlike other membe ...

Paulownia tomentosa ''Paulownia tomentosa'', common names princess tree, empress tree, or foxglove-tree, is a deciduous hardwood tree in the family Paulowniaceae, native to central and western China. It is an extremely fast-growing tree with seeds that disperse rea ...

Siberian Elm ''Ulmus pumila'', the Siberian elm, is a tree native to Asia. It is also known as the Asiatic elm and dwarf elm, but sometimes miscalled the 'Chinese Elm' (''Ulmus parvifolia''). ''U. pumila'' has been widely cultivated throughout Asia, Nor ...

, and

Norway Maple ''Acer platanoides'', commonly known as the Norway maple, is a species of maple native to eastern and central Europe and western Asia, from Spain east to Russia, north to southern Scandinavia and southeast to northern Iran. It was introduced to ...

, and invasive non-woody plants such as

Japanese Knotweed ''Reynoutria japonica'', synonyms ''Fallopia japonica'' and ''Polygonum cuspidatum'', is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is ...

and

Phragmites ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in London ...

. The railway tracks provide corridors along which these species can spread and thrive, even when the surrounding areas might be less hospitable to them.

Wildlife mortality

Wildlife species from smaller birds and mammals to deer and large mammals such as elephantsRoy, M., Baskaran, N., & Sukumar, R. 2009
The death of jumbos on railway lines in Northern West Bengal.
''Gajah'' 31: 36–39. may be killed in collisions with trains running on railway tracks.

References

{{Reflist * C. Sargent, D. W. Shimwell (reviewer). "Britain's Railway Vegetation" ''Journal of Applied Ecology'', Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 599–600 (1985) * Borda-de-Água, L., Barrientos, R., Beja, P. & Pereira, H.M. (eds). (2017) Railway Ecology. Springer International Publishing, Cham. Ecoregions Rail infrastructure Linear infrastructure intrusions