Research on the mechanism of plant root protection for soil slope stability

Abstract

In order to investigate the impact of herbaceous root development on soil slope stability in expansive soil areas, the research was conducted in the soil slope experimental area of Yaoshi Town, Shangzhou District, Shangluo City. Three types of herbaceous plants, namely Lolium perenne, Medicago, and Cynodon dactylon, were planted to examine their influence on slope stability. The results indicated that Lolium perenne had significantly higher root length density and root surface area density compared to Cynodon dactylon and Medicago. However, the root weight density of Cynodon dactylon was found to be highest. The roots of Lolium perenne, Cynodon dactylon, and Medicago were predominantly observed in diameter ranges of 0 < L ≤ 1.0 mm, 0 < L ≤ 2.5 mm, and 2.5 < L ≤ 3.0 mm, respectively. The roots of herbaceous plants have the ability to enhance water retention in soil, resist hydraulic erosion of slope soil, and reduce soil shrinkage and swelling. During the initial phase of herbaceous planting, there is an accelerated process of organic carbon mineralization in the soil. The roots of herbaceous plants play a crucial role in soil consolidation and slope protection. They achieve this by dispersing large clastic particles, binding small particles together, altering soil porosity, enhancing soil water retention, and reducing soil water infiltration. It was found that Lolium perenne and Medicago, which have well-developed roots, exhibited superior slope protection effects. These findings contribute to the theoretical understanding for the implementation of green ecological protection technology on soil slopes.

Impact of Seed Inoculation with Trichoderma afroharzianum Strains on Plant Growth, Root Morphology, and Leaf Phenolic Content in Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) at Early Growth Stages

“…T-22-treated plants also presented generally higher total root length, surface area, and volume, as well as higher number of root forks, tips and crossings compared to control plants. This implies a larger horizontal and vertical distribution area of the root apparatus in the soil, which allows greater soil occupation and better acquisition of water and nutrients by the roots [35]. In line with these findings, Yedidia and coworkers [36] reported an increase in the total root length and surface triggered by a T. harzianum strain in cucumber plants, which determined a significant increase in the shoot Cu, P, Fe, Zn, Mn and Na concentrations compared to untreated plants, thus confirming that exploration of a larger region of soil induced by Trichoderma enables the plant to uptake more micro-and macronutrients that give advantages to the plant as a whole.…”

Experimental Study on the Effect of Soil Reinforcement and Slip Resistance on Shallow Slopes by Herbaceous Plant Root System

“…However, plant slope protection is a long-term process [16,17], and the effectiveness of root slope protection is closely related to factors such as root distribution [18][19][20] and root density [21][22][23]. Therefore, further analysis is needed on the soil fixation mechanism of herbaceous plant roots.…”