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Root Strategies for Rill and Gully Erosion Control

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Root Engineering

Part of the book series: Soil Biology ((SOILBIOL,volume 40))

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Abstract

Many studies attribute the effects of vegetation in reducing water erosion rates to the effects of the above-ground biomass. The effects of the below-ground biomass on flow erosivity and topsoil resistance to concentrated flow erosion are much less studied. However, roots play an important role in controlling soil erosion rates, especially when the above-ground biomass disappears (e.g. due to fire, drought, harvest, grazing) and particularly when incisive processes are concerned. Roots affect properties of the soil, such as soil roughness, infiltration rate, aggregate stability, moisture content, soil cohesion and organic matter content, all of which control soil erodibility to various degrees. It is generally recognised that plant roots contribute to the overall cohesion of the soil. Moreover, roots were also assumed to have a flow-retarding effect. The main objective of this chapter is therefore to discuss the mechanical and hydraulic effects of plant roots during concentrated flow erosion which allows us to better understand and predict soil erosion rates during concentrated flow erosion. Several empirically based relationships that can be used to predict the erosion-reducing effects of plant root during concentrated flow erosion are presented. The relative contribution of roots versus shoots in preventing soil detachment will also be addressed. Finally, a methodology to evaluate plant traits (both shoots and roots) for gully erosion control is proposed.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks go to the Research Fund of K.U. Leuven and to the European Commission (RECONDES (Conditions for Restoration and Mitigation of Desertified Areas Using Vegetation) project, Directorate-General of Research, Global Change and Desertification Programme, Project no. GOCE-CT-2003-505361) for funding this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life and Environmental Science, School of Geography, University of Exeter, Rennes Drive, EX4 4RJ, Exeter, UK

    S. De Baets & T. A. Quine

  2. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium

    S. De Baets & J. Poesen

Authors
  1. S. De Baets
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  2. T. A. Quine
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  3. J. Poesen
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Correspondence to S. De Baets .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain

    Asunción Morte

  2. Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ajit Varma

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De Baets, S., Quine, T.A., Poesen, J. (2014). Root Strategies for Rill and Gully Erosion Control. In: Morte, A., Varma, A. (eds) Root Engineering. Soil Biology, vol 40. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54276-3_14

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