Root Tensile Resistance of Selected Pennisetum Species and Shear Strength of Root-Permeated Soil

Abstract

It is widely recognized that vegetation plays a significant role in contrasting slope instability through the root reinforcement. The main objectives of this paper are to evaluate the root tensile of selected Pennisetum species, namely, P. pedicellatum (PPd) and P. polystachion (PPl), and to determine the soil shear strength of root-permeated soil from these species. The selected species were initially planted in the polybags using the hydroseeding technique. A mineral fertilizer of NPK ratio 10 : 8 : 10 was adopted in the hydroseeding mixture. Routine watering program was applied twice a day throughout growth observation for six months. Four replications were prepared for each species including a set of control polybags, which contained only soil for reference and comparison. The results of root tensile tests revealed the significant relationships between root diameter and tensile force. In comparison, the PPl was still indicated by higher values of root tensile force than PPd. The presence of roots clearly has contributed to the shear stress of root-permeated soils. The root density based on root biomass measurement attributed to the higher value of peak shear stress as achieved by PPl than PPd. The combined effects of root tensile and the soil shear strengths of this selected species can be used as biological materials in slope protection against erosion.

Root Functional Traits and Water Erosion-Reducing Potential of Two Indigenous C4 Grass Species for Erosion Control of Mudstone Badlands in Taiwan

“…Root tensile resistance and root distribution play a critical role in soil conservation and slope stability [44][45][46]. Our results demonstrated that root tensile resistance and root configuration varied notably between these two species.…”

Analyzing the influence of mechanical root properties of commonly planted agroforestry trees on Mt. Elgon. A suitability assessment of the best eco-engineering tree species for shallow seated landslide control

“…According to Comino & Marengo (2010) effective root reinforcement can be measured through soil shear strength, root tensile strength and root architecture. Therefore, root tensile strength was expressed as a ratio of resistance and root area equation 2 which is measured as the ratio of maximum force applied to a root at the failure surface to its root diameter (Ettbeb et al, 2020;Lee et al, 2020). a one-way ANNOVA was conducted to test for differences within species.…”

“…However, this method was modified to mean diameter of horizontal roots and mean DBH presented in equation 4. The overall root reinforcement was determined using the soil shear strength calculated from equation 5 below ( Yu et al, 2020;Ettbeb et al, 2020;Sofia & Afonso, 2019;Comino & Marengo, 2010) which then descriptive statistics followed…”

The Comparison of Erosion Rates in Grassland, Teak Forest, Crops Land, and Gliricidia Forest Plantation in Wanagama Edu Forest

“…This resulted from the two species of grass Kolonjono and Gajah grass, which functions to reduce the rainfall as well as runoff energy. Gajah grass (Pennisetum purpureum) is one of the plants that can control erosion [20].…”