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Anchorage properties at the interface between soil and roots with branches

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Abstract

Roots play an important role in stabilizing and strengthening soil. This article aims to study the mechanical properties of the interface between soil and roots with branches, using the pullout test method in the laboratory. The mechanical properties of the soil–root with branches interface is determined through the pullout-force and root-slippage curve (F–S curve). The results of investigating 24 Pinus tabulaeformis single roots and 55 P. tabulaeformis roots with branches demonstrated three kinds of pullout test failures: breakage failure on branching root, breakage failure on branching node, and pullout failure. The branch angle had a remarkable effect on the failure mode of the roots with branches: the maximum pullout force increased with the sum of the branch diameters and the branch angle. The peak slippage and the initial force had a positive correlation with the sum of the branch diameter. The significance test of correlation between branch angle and the initial force, however, showed they had no correlation. Branch angle and branch root diameter affect the anchorage properties between root system and soil. Therefore, it is important to investigate the anchorage mechanics of the roots with branches to understand the mechanism of root reinforcement and anchorage.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Combating, Ministry of Education of China, Beijing Forestry University, 100083, Beijing, China

    Xiaodong Ji, Lihua Chen & Ao Zhang

Authors
  1. Xiaodong Ji
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  2. Lihua Chen
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  3. Ao Zhang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaodong Ji.

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Project funding:

This work was financially supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No.YX2010-20), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.31570708, No.30901162), the Open Projects Foundation of Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation & Desertification Combat (Beijing Forestry University), Ministry of Education of China (No.201002).

The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com

Corresponding editor: Hu Yanbo

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Ji, X., Chen, L. & Zhang, A. Anchorage properties at the interface between soil and roots with branches. J. For. Res. 28, 83–93 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-016-0294-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-016-0294-2

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