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This thesis was created to ensure the quality of the rock which would be crushed to base layer construction material, in a road cut at Swedish highway 51, and to find a possible link between the rock's abrasion resistance and its mineralogy. Rock samples were collected, and among other things, several ball mill tests were carried out. The design of the road project was carried out by Loxia Group AB with NCC Group as contractor.A total of 18 rock samples and 2 base layer samples were taken in the area and they were all tested in a ball mill. The results showed that of the 18 rock samples, 2 samples had a ball mill value of less than 16 on the scale, 10 samples had values from 16 to 20, in addition to this, 3 samples had values from 20 to 21 and 3 samples had values in excess of 21 on the Swedish ball mill scale.Of the 3 samples with a ball mill value higher than 21, all contained a larger amount of biotite. Biotite did not appear to the same extent among the samples that ended up further down the ball mill scale. This link was so clear that a conclusion was subsequently drawn from this. The samples taken on the prefabricated base layer both had a ball mill value between 16 and 20. Overall, both the base layer and the rock material passed the Swedish Government’s Transport Administration’s requirements according to "TRVKB 10, Obundna lager". The rock type that was on the south part of the rock cut, adjacent to a deformation zone, had way too poor quality to undergo a ball mill test and therefore there are no values taken from that area.The conclusion of the work is that the rock material overall meets the Swedish Government’s Transport Administration’s requirements for base layer construction materials according to "TRVKB 10 Obundna lager", that a clear link between the proportion of biotite in a rock material and its abrasion resistance exists, and that the broken rock in the south should not be used as construction materials since the rock has insufficient mechanic

Question: Does community assembly on roadsides differ between two contrasting habitats along a stress–productivity gradient? Is establishment success determined by the regional pool, environmental filters or historical events? Location: Highway roadcuts and embankments in central Spain (401290N, 031340W). Methods: Species composition was recorded annually in 45 plots distributed on steep slopes with newly exposed surfaces (roadcuts) or newly built topsoiled substrates (embankments), for 4 years following hydroseeding with standard or native seed mixture. Frequency of appearance and local colonization and extinction rates of individual species were clustered in establishment success groups. We examined the correspondence between descriptive plant traits and species performance on both roadslope types. Results: Roadslope species richness showed a sustained increase over time, although at consistently lower levels and rates on the more productive embankments. Sixty per cent of the colonization events involved species from the surrounding vegetation. Hydroseeded species persisted through time, but did not modify community composition or dynamics. A higher establishment success rate was found in wind-pollinated species with large seeds and in exotic species. Those species growing on embankments showed an equal or higher establishment success rate on roadcuts and, conversely, species from roadcuts exhibited an equal or lower success rate on embankments. Conclusions: At the initial stages of community assemblage on unproductive newly created areas, species richness was shaped by the regional species pool. Communities on less harsh topsoiled embankments were subjected, however, to the filtering effect of competitive exclusion. In a reclamation context, efforts to increase site productivity may have detrimental consequences for in situ conservation of local diversity., Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN), Comunidad de Madrid, Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

En el presente trabajo, proponemos profundizar en el conocimiento sobre los procesos que limitan la colonización vegetal de laderas erosionadas en ambientes semiáridos, y más específicamente sobre la penetración de raíces en suelos compactados. Para ello, hemos desarrollado una metodología para el estudio de la capacidad de las raíces para penetrar sustratos y detectar grietas en un rango amplio de compactaciones. Hemos analizado además el efecto de la morfología de las raíces, del nivel de resistencia a la penetración y del espesor del nivel más superficial del sustrato en la penetración de las raíces y en la detección de grietas por las raíces. Esta metodología se basa en el uso de discos de cera cuyo nivel de resistencia a la penetración depende de las proporciones de mezcla de parafina y vaselina en condiciones controladas de laboratorio. Para el estudio se utilizó un diseño factorial cruzado 2 x 2 x 5, con dos especies de distinta morfología radicular (pivotante vs. fasciculada), dos espesores de sustrato (3 y 7 mm) y cinco niveles de resistencia a la penetración comprendidos entre 60 y 1500 kPa. Los resultados indican que el nivel de resistencia a la penetración y el espesor del sustrato influyen sobre la tasa (número de raíces por semilla que penetran el sustrato) y velocidad (número de días para que se produzca la primera penetración) de penetración de las raíces para las dos morfologías de raíces estudiadas. Al contrario, no se aprecia ningún efecto del tipo de raíz en la velocidad para penetrar el sustrato. Por otro lado, se ha puesto de manifiesto el papel importante del nivel de resistencia a la penetración y de la morfología de las raíces en la detección de grietas superficiales por las raíces. A partir de los resultados obtenidos, se discuten las distintas estrategias posibles que podrían explicar el éxito de las especies colonizadoras de taludes de carreteras. Asimismo, una estrategia mixta, que contempla la penetración del suelo o la detección de gri