Soil Reinforcement by Roots

Waldron, L. J.; Dakessian, S.

doi:10.1097/00010694-198112000-00007

Cited by 304 publications

(51 citation statements)

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“…As a consequence, the application of the original W&W model tends to overestimate root reinforcement, as observed by several authors (Waldron and Dakessian 1981;Operstein and Frydman 2000;Pollen and Simon 2005;Docker and Hubble 2008) and the values obtained should be viewed as the maximum potential reinforcement.…”

Section: Root Cohesion Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Some decades later, such studies were confirmed by more specific experiments concerning the shear resistance of rooted soils, in the field (Endo and Tsuruta 1969;Wu et al 1979;Wu et al 1988) and the laboratory (e.g. Waldron 1977;Waldron and Dakessian 1981).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Many authors have demonstrated that k″ can have values much lower than 1.0, dramatically affecting the value of root reinforcement (Waldron and Dakessian 1981;Operstein and Frydman 2000;Pollen and Simon 2005;Docker and Hubble 2008). The FBM approach, as already illustrated can account for the processes affecting k″ and be used to estimate its values.…”

Section: Root Cohesion Distributionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Few references are available that discuss the reduction factor k″; Hammond et al (1992) proposed, for forest vegetation, a reduction factor of 0.56, whereas Waldron and Dakessian (1981), Operstein and Frydman (2000), Pollen and Simon (2005) and Docker and Hubble (2008) observed lower values for herbaceous plants and very young trees. Pollen and Simon (2005) carried out experiments using the Fiber Bundle Model (FBM) approach on riparian tree vegetation and obtained reduction factors between 0.60 and 0.82.…”

Section: Root Cohesion Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Root cohesion of forest species in the Italian Alps

et al. 2009

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Forests can prevent and/or mitigate hydrogeomorphic hazards in mountainous landscapes. Their effect is particularly relevant in the case of shallow landslides phenomena, where plants decrease the water content of the soil and increase its mechanical strength. Although such an effect is well known, its quantification is a relatively new challenge. The present work estimates the effect of some forest species on hillslope stability in terms of additional root cohesion by means of a model based on the classical Wu and Waldron approach (Wu in Alaska Geotech Rpt No 5 Dpt Civ Eng Ohio State Univ Columbus, USA, 1976; Waldron in Soil Sci Soc Am J 41:843-849, 1977). The model is able to account for root distribution with depth and nonsimultaneous root breaking. Samples of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), European larch (Larix decidua Mill.), sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) and European hop-hornbeam (Ostrya carpinifolia Scop.), were taken from different locations of Lombardy (Northern Italy) to estimate root tensile strength, the Root Area Ratio and the root cohesion distribution in the soil. The results show that, in spite of its dramatic variability within the same species at the same location and among different locations, root cohesion can be coherently interpreted using the proposed method. The values herein obtained are significant for slope stabilisation, are consistent with the results of direct shear tests and back-analysis data, and can be used for the estimation of the stability of forested hillslopes in the Alps.

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Section: Root Cohesion Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Root Cohesion Distributionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Root Cohesion Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Root cohesion of forest species in the Italian Alps

et al. 2009

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“…Rootreinforced soil has a greater resistance to continued deformation, without loss of residual strength, than soil alone (Gray and Leiser 1982;Davidson et al 1991). Direct-shear tests of soil-root composites have demonstrated that soil shear strength increases linearly with increasing root mass (Waldron and Dakessian 1981;Wu et al 1988), and that root reinforced soil is generally stronger and more ductile than fallow soil (Bransby et al 2006). Tree root systems must be large enough to transfer forces into the ground and strong enough in highly stressed areas to prevent breakage (Stokes and Matteck 1996;Stokes et al 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coarse root growth of Veronese poplar trees varies with position on an erodible slope in New Zealand

2009

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Poplars are commonly planted on moist, unstable pastoral hill country to prevent or reduce soil erosion, thereby maintaining hillslope integrity and pasture production. Mechanical reinforcement by poplar root systems aids slope stabilisation, particularly when the roots are anchored into the fragipan or underlying rock. Total root length, mass and distribution of coarse roots (C2 mm diameter) were determined for three Populus deltoides 9 nigra 'Veronese' trees in their 12th growing season after being planted as 3 m poles at upper slope (TU), mid-slope (TM) and lower slope (TL) positions on an erodible hillslope near Palmerston North in the southern North Island. Most of the roots were distributed in the top 40 cm of soil. Depth of penetration of vertical roots was dependent on slope position and limited by the available depth of the soil above a fragipan (0.35 m at the upper slope to 1.4 m at the lower slope). Roots penetrated the fragipan at the upper slope position where the soil depth was shallowest, and at the mid-slope, but not the lower slope position. Total coarse root length was 287.9 m for TU, 1,131.3 m for TM and 1,611.3 m for TL, and total coarse root dry mass (excluding root crown) was 8.15 kg for TU, 38.77 kg for TM and 81.35 kg for TL.

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Using a Combined Slope Hydrology/Stability Model to Identify Suitable Conditions for Landslide Prevention by Vegetation in the Humid Tropics

Collison

Anderson

1996

Earth Surf. Process. Landforms

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The susceptibility of cut slopes to landsliding can be reduced in certain circumstances by the establishment of a vegetation cover. However, the hydrological implications of allowing a cover to develop may offset the mechanical benefits of soil reinforcement by roots. The balance between hydrological and mechanical effects is critical on slopes which are susceptible to the development of an infiltration-induced transitory perched water table, a common cause of landslides in deep, tropical residual soils. This balance is likely to change both between slopes of different types as well as temporally on any given slope. The net effect of a vegetation cover must be predicted either before natural vegetation covers are allowed to encroach on bare slopes, or if engineers are considering the use of trees as a protective measure. This paper presents a method of calculating the impact of a vegetation cover on slope stability. Simulations carried out on a wide range of slope types suggest that where failure is most likely to be triggered by infiltration rather than ground water rise, large-scale vegetation covers may contribute to instability. Whether vegetation had a positive or negative impact on slope stability was controlled by the permeability of the soil matrix, whilst the magnitude of impact was controlled by the soil strength and the slope height.

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Soil Reinforcement by Roots

Cited by 304 publications

References 0 publications

Root cohesion of forest species in the Italian Alps

Root cohesion of forest species in the Italian Alps

Coarse root growth of Veronese poplar trees varies with position on an erodible slope in New Zealand

Using a Combined Slope Hydrology/Stability Model to Identify Suitable Conditions for Landslide Prevention by Vegetation in the Humid Tropics

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