Evaluation of plant growth and spacing effects on bioengineered slopes subjected to rainfall

Shallow landslides can be mitigated through the hydro-mechanical reinforcement provided by vegetation. Several critical parameters, such as plant spacing and plant age, play a significant role in influencing bioengineered slope stability facilitated by vegetation. However, the coupling of these effe...

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Main Authors: Farshad Yazdani, Hamed Sadeghi, Pouya AliPanahi, Mostafa Gholami, Anthony Kwan Leung
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2024-06-01
Series:Biogeotechnics
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949929124000123
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author Farshad Yazdani
Hamed Sadeghi
Pouya AliPanahi
Mostafa Gholami
Anthony Kwan Leung
author_facet Farshad Yazdani
Hamed Sadeghi
Pouya AliPanahi
Mostafa Gholami
Anthony Kwan Leung
author_sort Farshad Yazdani
collection DOAJ
description Shallow landslides can be mitigated through the hydro-mechanical reinforcement provided by vegetation. Several critical parameters, such as plant spacing and plant age, play a significant role in influencing bioengineered slope stability facilitated by vegetation. However, the coupling of these effects on the stability of vegetated slope has been ignored. The objective of this study is to investigate the hydro-mechanical impact of vegetation growth and spacing on the stability of bioengineered slopes based on the predictions of a calibrated numerical model against field measurements. The impact of vegetation is investigated, with specific attention given to different plant spacing and growth stages, utilizing Schefflera arboricola. In the context of rainfall, it was observed that younger vegetation demonstrated more effective matric suction retention and recovery up to 25 kPa compared to the aged vegetation. Vegetation was revealed to substantially enhance the factor of safety up to 0.3 compared to the bare slope. Plant growth and reducing plant spacing increased the impact of root systems on both hydraulic and mechanical stability, primarily attributable to the influence of root cohesion rather than transpiration rates. The results revealed that the mechanical contribution to the factor of safety enhancement was raised from one-third to two-thirds because of the vegetation-induced cohesion within the growing rooted zone.
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institution Kabale University
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language English
publishDate 2024-06-01
publisher KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
record_format Article
series Biogeotechnics
spelling doaj-art-4f4a4c936d4d40ef8a75a69b5027c8af2025-08-20T03:45:07ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Biogeotechnics2949-92912024-06-012210008010.1016/j.bgtech.2024.100080Evaluation of plant growth and spacing effects on bioengineered slopes subjected to rainfallFarshad Yazdani0Hamed Sadeghi1Pouya AliPanahi2Mostafa Gholami3Anthony Kwan Leung4Department of Civil Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Ave., Tehran, IranDepartment of Civil Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Ave., Tehran, Iran; Corresponding author.Department of Civil Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Ave., Tehran, IranDepartment of Civil Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Azadi Ave., Tehran, IranDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, ChinaShallow landslides can be mitigated through the hydro-mechanical reinforcement provided by vegetation. Several critical parameters, such as plant spacing and plant age, play a significant role in influencing bioengineered slope stability facilitated by vegetation. However, the coupling of these effects on the stability of vegetated slope has been ignored. The objective of this study is to investigate the hydro-mechanical impact of vegetation growth and spacing on the stability of bioengineered slopes based on the predictions of a calibrated numerical model against field measurements. The impact of vegetation is investigated, with specific attention given to different plant spacing and growth stages, utilizing Schefflera arboricola. In the context of rainfall, it was observed that younger vegetation demonstrated more effective matric suction retention and recovery up to 25 kPa compared to the aged vegetation. Vegetation was revealed to substantially enhance the factor of safety up to 0.3 compared to the bare slope. Plant growth and reducing plant spacing increased the impact of root systems on both hydraulic and mechanical stability, primarily attributable to the influence of root cohesion rather than transpiration rates. The results revealed that the mechanical contribution to the factor of safety enhancement was raised from one-third to two-thirds because of the vegetation-induced cohesion within the growing rooted zone.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949929124000123Bioengineered slopesShallow landslidePlant agePlant spacingSlope stability
spellingShingle Farshad Yazdani
Hamed Sadeghi
Pouya AliPanahi
Mostafa Gholami
Anthony Kwan Leung
Evaluation of plant growth and spacing effects on bioengineered slopes subjected to rainfall
Biogeotechnics
Bioengineered slopes
Shallow landslide
Plant age
Plant spacing
Slope stability
title Evaluation of plant growth and spacing effects on bioengineered slopes subjected to rainfall
title_full Evaluation of plant growth and spacing effects on bioengineered slopes subjected to rainfall
title_fullStr Evaluation of plant growth and spacing effects on bioengineered slopes subjected to rainfall
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of plant growth and spacing effects on bioengineered slopes subjected to rainfall
title_short Evaluation of plant growth and spacing effects on bioengineered slopes subjected to rainfall
title_sort evaluation of plant growth and spacing effects on bioengineered slopes subjected to rainfall
topic Bioengineered slopes
Shallow landslide
Plant age
Plant spacing
Slope stability
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949929124000123
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