Much of the disturbed soil on a 1.45 kilometer road bank at the West Virginia University Forest in northern West Virginia was invaded with natural vegetation and stabilized by the end of the second growing season after road construction. The amount of vegetation generally increased with the steepness of the road bank. Although the steeper slopes had more surface erosion, this soil movement undermined the soil supporting the root mat at the top of the slope, causing this mat to fold down and take root. Nearly half of the transects contained vegetation established in this manner. Forty-nine percent of the cut bank was covered, and about one-fifth of this was due to vegetation sloughs.
Thirty-six species were tallied for the transects. The taxonomic composition of the transects from seed was similar to those that had lodged and rooted mats. This indicates that sloughed mats form important centers of spread in revegetating areas that are still open, and that mats act as an important means of stabilizing steep banks of disturbed soil.