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Desirable plant root traits for protecting natural and engineered slopes against landslides

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Abstract

Slope stability models traditionally use simple indicators of root system structure and strength when vegetation is included as a factor. However, additional root system traits should be considered when managing vegetated slopes to avoid shallow substrate mass movement. Traits including root distribution, length, orientation and diameter are recognized as influencing soil fixation, but do not consider the spatial and temporal dimensions of roots within a system. Thick roots act like soil nails on slopes and the spatial position of these thick roots determines the arrangement of the associated thin roots. Thin roots act in tension during failure on slopes and if they traverse the potential shear zone, provide a major contribution in protecting against landslides. We discuss how root traits change depending on ontogeny and climate, how traits are affected by the local soil environment and the types of plastic responses expressed by the plant. How a landslide engineer can use this information when considering slope stability and management strategies is discussed, along with perspectives for future research. This review encompasses many ideas, data and concepts presented at the Second International Conference ‘Ground Bio- and Eco-engineering: The Use of Vegetation to Improve Slope Stability—ICGBE2’ held at Beijing, China, 14–18 July 2008. Several papers from this conference are published in this edition of Plant and Soil.

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Notes

  1. Adventitious root development can be encountered in the first rooting type. Many tropical trees exhibit a very large cone of adventitious roots at the base of the trunk which reinforces the original primary root system. This type can be seen as a mixed type. In temperate species the adventitious development of root is often less spectacular because only the few first centimetres of the trunk base are concerned.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for AS, CA and TF was received from INRA (Jeune Equipe), CNRS (EcoPente project) and Agropolis Fondation, Montpellier. AMAP (Botany and Computational Plant Architecture) is a joint research unit which associates CIRAD (UMR51), CNRS (UMR5120), INRA (UMR931), IRD (2M123), and Montpellier 2 University (UM27). The Scottish Crop Research Institute receives grant-in-aid support from the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Research and Analysis Directorate. Thanks are due to the Chinese Academy of Sciences and LIAMA, in particular B. Hong and X. Zhang, for their help in the organisation of the ICGBE2 conference.

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  1. INRA, UMR AMAP, 34398, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Alexia Stokes

  2. Pousse Conseil, Domaine de Fitzgerald, Le Mas Rouge, Chemin du Mas Rouge, 34970, Lattes, France

    Claire Atger

  3. Scottish Crop Research Institute, Dundee, DD2 5DA, UK

    Anthony Glyn Bengough

  4. CIRAD, UMR AMAP, 34398, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Thierry Fourcaud

  5. Appalachian State University, Department of Geology, P.O. Box 32067, Boone, NC, 28608, USA

    Roy C. Sidle

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  1. Alexia Stokes
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  3. Anthony Glyn Bengough
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Correspondence to Alexia Stokes.

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Responsible Editor: Yongguan Zhu.

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Stokes, A., Atger, C., Bengough, A.G. et al. Desirable plant root traits for protecting natural and engineered slopes against landslides. Plant Soil 324, 1–30 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0159-y

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