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How does root biodegradation after plant felling change root reinforcement to soil?

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Abstract

Aims

Previous studies have shown that root reinforcement provided by trees could decrease over time after stem cutting. The short-term changes in root mechanical and structural traits associated with root reinforcement after stem cutting have not been fully studied. We aimed to quantify the temporal changes in root mechanical and structural traits following stem cutting, and to identify the major drivers of root reinforcement deterioration.

Methods

At six elapsed times (zero, one, three, six, nine, and twelve months) after stem cutting of the species Symplocos setchuensis Brand, we measured shear strength for both rooted and root free soils, root failure modes, root mechanical traits (tensile strength, Young’s modulus, and tensile strain) and structural traits (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin contents).

Results

Both root mechanical and structural traits significantly differed as a function of root diameter and time after stem cutting. Tensile strength decreased 19.7% while Young’s modulus decreased 46.9% twelve months after stem cutting. Hemicellulose content showed the greatest decrease (45.3%) among the structural traits. The relative reduction in magnitude was higher for fine roots than coarse roots. Additional shear strength (at the yield point) provide by roots decreased 85.9% twelve months after stem cutting.

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrate a higher rate of root reinforcement deterioration after stem cutting than previously reported in literatures. Our results suggest that the underlying mechanism of deterioration of root reinforcement is more likely caused by a shift of root failure from tensile breakage to slide-out failure, and a decline in root Young’s modulus.

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Abbreviations

d :

Tangential displacement of soil sample in shear (m)

D :

Root diameter (mm)

L :

Root length (m)

F p :

Pull-out load at root failure (kN), which is equal to the maximum load in a pull-out test

F s :

Tangential force (kN) measured in shear process

T t :

Tensile strength at root failure (kN), which is calculated by maximum load in a tensile test

F y :

Applied force at the yield point, which is equal to the end of the initial quasi-linear part of the tensile stress-strain curve

E r :

Root Young’s modulus (MPa), also known as the elastic modulus

ε r :

Root tensile strain at failure (%), i.e., relative extended root length until root failure due to tension

ΔL :

The maximum root extension during a mechanical test (m)

RAR :

Root area ratio (%), defined as the ratio between the cross-sectional area occupied by roots in a unit area of soil

ε :

Strain of rooted or non-rooted soil (%), relative extended length of soil matrix during a mechanical test; εmax and εyield represent ε at maximum point and yield point

τ(ε):

Soil shear stress (kPa) at the strain ε

τ r :

Increased soil shear strength provided by roots (kPa), i.e., the difference between τ of rooted soil and that of non-rooted soil

τ max :

The maximum soil shear resistance (kPa)

τ r-max :

Additional maximum shear strength provided by roots (kPa) is the difference in maximum strength between root-free soil and rooted soil (kPa). It can be defined as: τr-Max = Δτ(max) = τrooted(max) - τroot-free(max)

τ yield :

Yield shear resistance (kPa) is equal to the stress at the inflexion point (yield point) of the curve representing a transition between elastic and plastic behaviors of the material

τ r-yield :

Additional yield shear strength provided by roots (kPa) is the difference in yield strength between root-free soil and rooted soil (in kPa). It can be defined as: τr-yield = Δτ(yield) = τrooted(yield) - τroot-free(yield)

τ r (estimated) :

Estimated additional shear strength provided by roots (kPa) with root cohesion model

t Tr50 :

The time for roots to lose half their original strength

t τr50 :

The time for vegetation to lose half their original root reinforcement

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31570707) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2015ZCQ-SB-01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Three-gorges reservoir area (Chongqing) Forest Ecosystem Research Station, School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, No.35 Qinghua Dong Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Jinqi Zhu, Yunqi Wang & Yujie Wang

  2. UMR Amap, Inra, Cnrs, Ird, Cirad, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Zhun Mao

  3. USDA-ARS National Sedimentation Laboratory, Oxford, MS, 38655, USA

    Eddy J. Langendoen

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  1. Jinqi Zhu
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  2. Yunqi Wang
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  3. Yujie Wang
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  4. Zhun Mao
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  5. Eddy J. Langendoen
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Correspondence to Yunqi Wang.

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Zhu, J., Wang, Y., Wang, Y. et al. How does root biodegradation after plant felling change root reinforcement to soil?. Plant Soil 446, 211–227 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04345-x

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