Abstract
No matter from the perspective of slope protection, landscape effect and construction cost, or from the perspective of ecological benefit, the development of original ecological tridimensional vegetation has become the inevitable trend for slope vegetation in pursuit of protecting ecological condition, decreasing soil erosion, maintaining ecological balance and beautifying environment of slope. The concept of original ecological tridimensional slope vegetation is proposed in this paper, and the original ecological tridimensional slope vegetation is studied through theoretical analysis and experiments. Specifically, the mechanical effect of slope vegetation in reinforcing the cohesion and shear strength of soil mass is firstly discussed, and then experiments are performed to study the water interception and containing function of slope under various vegetation conditions. Moreover, the relation between soil moisture and cohesion, the relation between root distribution density and cohesion, and the relation between root distribution density and soil shear strength are also studied based on experiments. Finally, based on field observation, the soil erosion states of slope under various vegetation conditions are comparatively studied. It is found that the original ecological tridimensional slope, which combines grass, shrub and tree, can generate comprehensive slope protection effects, and hence strengthen the slope protection ability and bring multiple slope protection benefits. Thereby, the theoretical foundation for developing original ecological tridimensional slope vegetation is established.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ali N, Farshchi I, Mu’azu MA, et al. (2012) Soil-root interaction and effects on slope stability analysis. Electronic Journal of Geotechnical Engineering 17 C: 319–328
Coppin NJ, Richards IG (1990) Use of vegetation in civil engineering. England: Ciria, Butterworths. pp 56–87.
Faisal HA, Osman N (2008) Shear strength of a soil containing vegetation roots. Soils and Foundations 48(4): 587–596. DOI: 10.3208/sandf.48.587
He HL, Wang Q, Yang ZJ, et al. (2007) Slope vegetation: present situation and its prospect. Journal of Central South Highway Engineering 32(2): 150–153. (In Chinese)
Jiang F, Zhang JY (2008) Interactional mechanical characteristics between plant roots and slope soil. Journal of Geological Hazards and Environment Preservation 19(1): 57–61. (In Chinese)
Lee DH, Yang YE, Lin HM (2007) Assessing slope protection methods for weak rock slopes in Southwestern Taiwan. Engineering Geology 91(2–4): 100–116.
Liu DH, Li Y (2003) Mechanism of plant roots improving resistance of soil to concentrated flow erosion. Journal of Soil Water Conservation 17(3): 34–37. (In Chinese)
Morgan RPC, Rickson, RJ (1974) Slope stabilization and erosion control: a bioengineering approach. London: E & F N Spon, an imprint of Chapman & Hall. pp. 167–239.
Ou YF, Wang HL, Wang G (2007) Research on vegetation restoration of ecological slope protection of highway in loess plateau area. Journal of Wuhan University of Technology 29(9): 162–166. (In Chinese)
Riestenberg MM, Sovonick-Dunford S (1983) The role of woody vegetation in stabilizing slopes in the Cincinnati area. Geological Society of America Bulletin 94(4): 506–518.
Roering JJ, Schmidt KM, Stock Jonathan D, et al. (2003) Shallow landsliding, root reinforcement, and the spatial distribution of trees in the Oregon Coast Range. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 40(2): 237–253. DOI: 10.1139/T02-113
Schwarz M, Preti F, Giadrossich F, et al. (2010) Quantifying the role of vegetation in slope stability: A case study in Tuscany (Italy). Ecological Engineering 36(3): 285–291. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2009.06.014
Sonnenberg R, Bransby MF, Hallett PD, et al. (2010) Centrifuge modeling of soil slopes reinforced with vegetation. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 47(12): 1415–1430. DOI: 10.1139/T10-037
Tilman D, Downing JA (1994) Biodiversity and stability in grasslands. Nature 367: 363–365.
Van de Wiel MJ, Darby SE (2007) A new model to analyse the impact of woody riparian vegetation on the geotechnical stability of riverbanks. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 32(14): 2185–2198. DOI: 10.1002/esp.1522
Wang WL, Yen BC (1974) Soil Arching in Slopes. Journal of the Geotechnical Engineering Division 100(GT1): 61–78.
Wu TH, Beal PE, Lan C (1988) In-situ test of soil-root systems. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (ASCE) 114(12): 1376–1394
Xie XM, Lu XL (2004) Ecological principles in greening and protection engineering of roadside and side slope. Ecologic Science 23(1): 85–88. (In Chinese)
Yang P, Xiang ZH, Hu XS, et al. (2009) Soil reinforcement by vegetation roots. Journal of Tsinghua University 49(2): 305–308.
Yan ZX, Song Y, Jiang P, et al. (2010a) Preliminary study on interaction between plant frictional root and rock-soil mass. SCIENCE CHINA Technological Sciences 53(7): 1938–1942. DOI: 10.1007/s11431-009-3167-5
Yan ZX, Yan CM, Wang HY (2010b) Mechanical interaction between roots and soil mass in slope vegetation. SCIENCE CHINA Technological Sciences 53(11): 3039–3044. DOI: 10.1007/s11431-010-4137-7
Zhang JY, Zhou DP (2006) Study on ecological protection mechanism of red bed mudstone slope. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering 25(2): 250–256 (In Chinese)
Zhou Y, Xu Q, Luo HS, et al. (1999) Traction effect of lateral roots of trees II in situ direct rest. Journal of Mountain Research 17(1): 59–63. (In Chinese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yan, Zx., Ren, Zh., Yan, Cm. et al. Study on original ecological tridimensional slope vegetation. J. Mt. Sci. 10, 932–939 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-013-2478-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-013-2478-y