<p>Italy is historically characterized by a high spatial density of landslides due to its complex geological setting, which often predisposes it to slope instability under both natural and anthropogenic influences. In most cases, the reasons behind this fragility can be re-conducted to the transformations made by humans over the centuries with scarce awareness and attention to land use, somewhat intensified by the local e&#64256;ects of global climate changes. This can result in eco-environmental imbalances that are often evident only when they lead the slopes to failure and make their restoration extremely expensive and economically unviable.&#160; The goal of this work is to assess the potential increase in slope stability by adopting nature-based solutions relying on bio-engineering works. A series of numerical simulations has been performed by means of the PLAXIS 2D finite element software, separately evaluating the mechanical and hydraulic contribution provided by vegetation roots on the stability of a series of ideal slopes. Considering different slope inclinations, soil mechanical characteristics, absence or presence of vegetation, and different root system depths, the safety coefficient was calculated for each model. Results showed that in the presence of a vegetation cover, there is an improvement in slope stability, and this is more evident for coarse-grained soils rather than fine-grained. It was also found that the root systems increase the slope stability during the period of their transient development, progressively with the deepening of the roots. Finally, it was observed that, for the considered soils, the mechanically stabilizing effect is greater than the hydraulic stabilizing effect.</p>
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.