This work is on the one hand a contribution to the discussion on ecological adaptation of the road infrastructure and on the other hand a stage in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of a new section (Bogla-Öggestorp, 5 km) of Highway 31, south-east of Jönköping, Southern Sweden. The aim is to illustrate the handling of ecological issues in EIA and to give a preliminary estimation of the ecological consequences of the road according to the tunnel and non-tunnel alternatives at the fault scarp near Bogla. The work is based on existing preliminary EIA reports, general ecological knowledge and international measures for the ecological adaptation of infrastructure. The emissions of HC, CO, NOx and CO2, with and without a tunnel were simulated for 1993 and 2005. The natural values in an area should be estimated using various scales of space and time. On the small spatial scale, natural values which are destroyed by the road and disturbance to plants and animals in the close vicinity of the road are identified. On the larger scale, the influence of the road on the migration of animals and the exchange of individuals and genes in and between populations is estimated. The evaluation of the nature in the area should be based not only on individual species and biotopes but also on the large-scale natural features in the area as a whole. It should then be considered that natural values may increase over time and that society's estimation of nature is changing constantly. In the absence of a developed methodology for pricing, the natural value of areas cannot be given any monetary value. In the investigated area, the botanical, zoological and geological values are combined with the small-scale topography to form an entirety which is of great value for nature conservation. The continuity in time and space of the natural environment of the fault scarp and the forest of Klevaberg should be considered specifically. A road would weaken the landscape-ecological connections, contribute to fragmentation of the landscape and biotopes and in the long term threaten rare mosses and lichens. The barrier effect of the road would be limited if the alternative of a tunnel is chosen, an animal underpass is constructed, planned viaducts are adapted to wildlife as well and the bridge of the Femtingaa brook is adapted to the migration of terrestrial and aquatic animals. According to the simulation, the tunnel and non-tunnel alternatives do not differ in regard to exhaust emissions. Highway runoff should be prevented from reaching watercourses and wetlands. The pre-project situation should be documented to serve as a basis for the post-project analysis. (A).
Samenvatting