Abstract
Rainfall-induced landslides occur on soil slopes due to seepage of water through the interconnecting voids down the soil mass. Vegetation on the slopes is depicted to have hydrological properties that deplete the excessive soil moisture for photosynthesis, translocation, transpiration and structure. Contrarily, these roots present in the soil, forming a preferential flow path, and allow the seeping water to reach greater depths. Different plant species have different root network characteristics which have been studied earlier. The current paper portrays the laboratory study on effect of two different plant species, namely Deodar (Cedrus deodara) and Ritha (Sapindus mukorossi), on the permeability characteristics of soil and their relationship with root network characteristics. The results show that the presence of plant roots increases the permeability of soil mass. This study could be helpful while selecting the plant species and their positions on a slope for the purpose of achieving soil stability.
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We would like to acknowledge the funding support received from SERB-DST to carry out this study.
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Semwal, T., Mali, N., Masakapalli, S.K., Uday, K.V. (2020). Effect of Plant Roots on Permeability of Soil. In: Latha Gali, M., P., R.R. (eds) Geotechnical Characterization and Modelling. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 85. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6086-6_27
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6086-6_27
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