Tensile properties of six desert shrub species in Hobq Desert, China

Abstract

Desert shrubs are often planted to control wind erosion, land desertification, and desert expansion. Their motions of bending and vibration can absorb and disperse kinetic energy of wind, so as to protect the erodible surfaces close-by. According to continuum mechanics, the quantification of mechanical properties of shrubs is critical to understand their dynamic behaviors. In this study, the conventional tensile tests of six dominant desert shrub species’ stems mainly sampled in the Hobq Desert of China are performed. It is found that the tensile strength of Tamarix ramosissima and Hedysarum scoparium are larger than others, whereas Caragana korshinskii and Hippophae rhamnoides are more flexible. And then, it is theoretically and experimentally proved that the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of these desert shrubs both decrease with the increase of diameter.