Investigation of soil reinforcement according to the root cohesion changes in hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.)

Document Type : Research article

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources, Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Sari, Iran

2 Prof., Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Sari, Iran

3 Associate Prof., Department of Geotechnic, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Babol University of Technology, Babol, Iran

4 Prof., Forestry and Environmental Science, Department of Agriculture, Sassari University, Sassari, Italy

Abstract

The degree of soil cohesion investigation through the presence of roots is one of the important criteria in soil reinforcement studies. In this study, the investigation and comparison of the degree of soil cohesion have been carried out using two models of WWM and FBM. For this purpose, seven hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) trees were selected in each three sites of chalos sarcheshme forest, series one. Then profile trenching method was used to analyze and compare root distribution and standard instron device have been measured tensile strength, respectively. The root area ratio (RAR) has decreased with increasing depth, and the maximum value of RAR in the three sites is seen at about 40 cm from the beginning, and the maximum depth of rooting is 60 cm. The results confirmed that there was a power law relationship between root diameter and tensile strength. The minimum and maximum tensile strength was estimated at 11.52-323.42, 6.89-318.79 and 6.91-312.66 MPa, in diameter range of 0.5-9.45,0.56-9.21,0.45-9.32 in the first, second and third site, respectively. In all three sites, the amount of soil cohesion through the presence of roots using the WWM model was 4.04-61.37,5.7-53.18,4.6-46.66 kpa and in FBM model the root cohesion in all depth was 1.22-27.48,1.87-24.22,1.85-19.04 kpa in the first, second and third site, respectively. Comparison of these two models increases our knowledge of the biomechanical features of the hornbeam species and more accurately determines the amount of soil reinforcement to be used in the future in the management of natural phenomena such as landslides.

Keywords


- Abdi, E., 2009. An investigation of the effect of tree roots in slope stability in order to use in practical forest road construction and bioengineering. Ph.D. thesis, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, 89p (In Persian).
- Abdi, E., 2014. Effect of Oriental beech root reinforcement on slope stability (Hyrcanian Forest, Iran). Journal of Forest Science, 60(4): 166-173.
- Abdi, E., Majnounian, B., Rahimi, H. and Zobeiri, M., 2009. Distribution and tensile strength of Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) roots growing on slopes of Caspian Forests, Iran. Journal of Forestry Research, 20(2): 105-110.
- Adhikari, A.R., Gautam, M.R., Yu, Z., Imada, S. and Acharya, K., 2013. Estimation of root cohesion for desert shrub species in the Lower Colorado riparian ecosystem and its potential for stream bank stabilization. Ecological Engineering, 51: 33-44.
- Bischetti, G.B., Chiaradia, E.A., Epis, E. and Morlotti, E., 2009. Root cohesion of forest species in the Italian Alps. Plant and Soil, 324: 71-89.
- Bischetti, G.B., Chiaradia, E.A., Simonato, T., Speziali, B., Vitali, B., Vullo, P. and Zocco, A., 2005. Root strength and root area ratio of forest species in Lombardy (Northern Italy). Plant and Soil, 278: 11-22.
- Bordoni, M., Meisina, C., Vercesi, A., Bischetti, G.B., Chiaradia, E.A., Vergani, C., … and Cislaghi, A., 2016. Quantifying the contribution of grapevine roots to soil mechanical reinforcement in an area susceptible to shallow landslides. Soil and Tillage Research, 163: 195-206.
- Burylo, M., Hudek, C. and Rey, F., 2011. Soil reinforcement by the root system of six dominant species on eroded mountainous marly slopes (Southern Alps, France). Catena, 84(1-2): 70-78.
- Daniels, H.E., 1945. The statistical theory of the strength of bundles of threads. Proceedings of the Royal Society of LondonSeries A,183(995): 405-435.
- Deljouei, A., Abdi, E., Majnounian, B. and‌‌ Schwarz, M., 2018. Comparing roots mechanical characteristics of hornbeam trees in different diameter at breast height classes. Forest and Wood Products, 71(3): 199-207 (In Persian).
- Deljouei, A., Abdi, E., Majnounian, B. and Schwarz, M., 2019. Roots spatial distribution of Carpinus betulus in lowland Hyrcanian forests (Kheyrud forest, Nowshahr). Journal of Forest Research and Development, 4(4): 477-488(In Persian).
- Dupuy, L., Fourcaud, T. and Stokes, A., 2005. A numerical investigation into factors affecting the anchorage of roots in tension. European Journal of Soil Science, 56(3): 319-327.
- Federica, G., Chiara, V., Rodolfo, G., Anne, B., Pierre, C., Sandra, C. and Chiaradia, E.A., 2017. Root characteristics of herbaceous species for topsoil stabilization in restoration projects. Land Degradation and Development, 28(7): 2074-2085.
- Genet, M., Kokutse, N., Stokes, A., Fourcaud, T., Cai, X., Ji, J. and Mickovski, S., 2008. Root reinforcement in plantations of Cryptomeria japonica D. Don: effect of tree age and stand structure on slope stability. Forest Ecology and Management, 256(8): 1517-1526.
- Genet, M., Stokes, A., Salin, F., Mickovski, S.B., Fourcaud, T., Dumail, J.F. and van Beek, R., 2005. The influence of cellulose content on tensile strength in tree roots. Plant and Soil, 278: 1-9.
- Gentile, F., Elia, G. and Elia, R., 2010. Analysis of the stability of slopes reinforced by roots. Design and Nature V, WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, 138: 198-200.
- Ghorbannezhad, S., 2014. Reinforcement of deep trenches in clay and sticky soils in Sarcheshme. MSc. thesis, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Islamic Azad University of Chalous, Chalous, 104p (In Persian).
- Giadrossich, F., Cohen, D., Schwarz, M., Seddaiu, G., Contran, N., Lubino, M., … and Niedda, M., 2016. Modeling bio-engineering traits of Jatropha curcas L. Ecological Engineering, 89: 40-48.
- Gyssels, G., Poesen, J., Bochet, E. and Li, Y., 2005. Impact of plant roots on the resistance of soils to erosion by water: a review. Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment, 29(2): 189-217.
- Hidalgo, R.C., Kun, F. and Herrmann, H.J., 2001. Bursts in a fiber bundle model with continuous damage. Physical Review E, 64(6): 066122.
- Mao, Z., Saint-André, L., Genet, M., Mine, F.X., Jourdan, C., Rey, H., … and Stokes, A., 2012. Engineering ecological protection against landslides in diverse mountain forests: Choosing cohesion models. Ecological Engineering, 45: 55-69.
- Moresi, F.V., Maesano, M., Matteucci, G., Romagnoli, M., Sidle, R.C. and Scarascia Mugnozza, G., 2019. Root biomechanical traits in a montane Mediterranean forest watershed: Variations with species diversity and soil depth. Forests, 10(4): 341.
- Naghdi, R., Maleki, S., Abdi, E., Mousavi, R. and Nikooy, M., 2013. Assessing the effect of Alnus roots on hillslope stability in order to use in soil bioengineering. Journal of Forest Science, 59(11): 417-423.
- Pollen, N. and Simon, A., 2005. Estimating the mechanical effects of riparian vegetation on stream bank stability using a fiber bundle model. Water Resources Research, 41(7): W07025.
- Schwarz, M., Giadrossich, F. and Cohen, D., 2013. Modeling root reinforcement using a root-failure Weibull survival function. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 17(11): 4367-4377.
- Schwarz, M., Preti, F., Giadrossich, F., Lehmann, P. and Or, D., 2010. Quantifying the role of vegetation in slope stability: A case study in Tuscany (Italy). Ecological Engineering, 36(3): 285-291.
 - Sidle, R. and Bogaard, T., 2016. Dynamic earth system and ecological controls of rainfall-initiated landslides. Earth Science Reviews, 159:275–291.
- Stokes, A., Atger, C., Bengough, A.G., Fourcaud, T. and Sidle, R.C., 2009. Desirable plant root traits for protecting natural and engineered slopes against landslides. Plant and Soil, 324: 1-30.
- Vergani, C., Schwarz, M., Cohen, D., Thormann, J.J. and Bischetti, G.B., 2014. Effect of root tensile force and diameter distribution variability on root reinforcement in the Swiss and Italian Alps. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 44(11): 1426-1440.
- Waldron, L.J., 1977. The shear resistance of root-permeated homogeneous and stratified soil. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 41(5): 843-849.
- Wang, S., Meng, ‌‌X., Chen, G., Guo, P., Xiong, M. and Zeng, R., 2017. Effects of vegetation on debris flow mitigation: A case study from Gansu province, China. Geomorphology, 282: 64-73.
- Wu, T.H., McKinnell III, W.P. and Swanston, D.N., 1979. Strength of tree roots and landslides on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 16(1): 19-33.
­ -Zhang, C.­B., Chen, L.­H.and Jiang, J., 2014. Why fine tree roots are stronger than thicker roots: The role of cellulose and lignin in relation to slope stability. Geomorphology, 206: 196–202.
- Zhong, R.H., He, X.B., Bao, Y.H., Tang, Q., Gao, J.Z., Yan, D.D., … and Li, Y., 2016. Estimation of soil reinforcement by the roots of four post-dam prevailing grass species in the riparian zone of Three Gorges Reservoir, China. Journal of Mountain Science, 13(3): 508-521.