BIOENGINEERING

D) Support function : Retain the soil preventing the lateral and outward
movement of the slope material. On large scale, a retaining wall or the roots of
large plants such as big bamboo clumps can buttress a soil mass.
E) Anchor function : The upper strata pinned up with the stable underlying strata
by the roots. Anchor surface material to deeper layers by the roots. Anchor
surface material to deeper layers by soil pinning. This helps to reduce mass
movement at depths greater than provided by general reinforcement.
F) Drain function : The surface or ground water absorbed and drained off through
the leaves. Drain excess water from the slope.
Small scale Engineering system
1) Retaining walls
- Retain the mountain slope , road or slope segment from valley side.
- Designed to stop active earth pressure.
2) Revetment / Breast walls
- Protect the base of slope from undercutting.
- Provide protection to slope.

3) Check dams
- Check the scouring of steep water channel.
- Prevent down cutting of runoff water in gulleys.
4) Surface and sub-surface drainage
- Cascades, French drains , catch drains, etc.
- Drain or remove the surface and ground water safely and quickly.
5) Stone pitching
- Strong covering of the slopes.
- Armors the slope and allow freely drainage withstanding water
velocities.
6) Wire bolster cylinder
- Like tube (30 cm dia) filled with stones
- Laid in shallow trenches across slope.
7) Rock bolting / soil nailing
- Bolting the rock layers and increasing the tensile strength of soil.
8) Shotcrete
- Cement stabilized aggregate sprayed over wire mesh slope covering for
surface armouring and to bind together the fractured and weathered
rock slope together.
Interaction between Plants and Civil Engineering Structures
In slope stabilization, we may have a choice whether to use civil
engineering on its alone, vegetative engineering alone, a combination of
the two. The strength of different stages of its life can be related to its
maximum strength.
As the relative strength of civil engineering structures decreases, the
relative strength of plant structures increases. Jute net and grass can both
be used to perform a catching function. In the beginning the fine soil
retaining capacity of the jute net is very high and each small square
behaves as mini check dam. With time the jute decays which weakens the
net and consequently its soil retaining capacity decreases. Ultimately the
net will fail to carry out any retaining function. The grass grows up with
time and start to retain soil on slope due to development of root and shoot
systems. When the grass is fully grown, it stays at 100% relative strength.
As the relative strength of the jute net declines the relative strength of the
 grass increases. The soil retaining function of the jute net is handed over to
the grass or plant.

Use of Vegetative Engineering system

- The structure constructed for the purpose of slope stabilization and
protection work with the use of plants or plant materials.
- Mainly three systems
o Seeding (sow (land) with seeds)
o Seedlings ( a young plant, especially one raised from seed and
not from a cutting )
o Live cutting ( A piece of the stem or root of the source plant is
placed in a suitable medium such as moist soil.)
1) Grass planting/ seeding
- Horizontal line of grass planting (suitable for different slopes)
- Vertical line of grass planting ( suitable for slope up to 65 degree and
clay type soil)
- Diagonal line of grass planting ( suitable for slopes up to 65 degree and
damp site)
- Chevron and herringbone pattern ( suitable for ridges and gullies)
2) Brush layering
- Use of woody stem cutting (inclined inward)
- Act as barrier preventing the development of rills and trap materials
moving down the slope.
- Catch, armour , reinforce

3) Palisade
- Use of hard woody stem cuttings ( vertical ) planted.
- Used to promote deposition in V-shaped gullies.
- Catch, armour and reinforce.
4) Facines
- Use of live stem cuttings in bundles likes bolster.
- Put out roots and shoots forming a strong line of vegetation.
- Catch, armour and reinforce the soil.
5) Bamboo plantation
- Using rhyzome of bamboo.
- At toe or just above the wall.
- Reinforce and support the slope.
6) Jute netting
- Placing the woven jute netting on the slope, armouring and catch small
debris, allows seed to grow, acts as a fertilizer of vegetation after decay.

7) Vegetated gabion
- Gabion walls strengthened by tree growing on them
8) Shrub and Tree planting
- Shrub and tree planted at regular interval on the slope
- Create dense network of roots in the soil.
- Seeding in rocky, steep and unstable slopes where seedlings and
cuttings cannot be planted.
 Selection of Plant species
In Nepal, the vegetation bands are relate broadly to altitude. The main
factors, which govern the selection of vegetation, are:
 Altitude
 Aspect
 Rainfall and its distribution
 Geology and soil
Altitudinal zones
Although the classification of vegetation types is based primarily on altitude,
we must not think that the altitudinal zones described are rigid. Many tree
species occur over a wide range of altitudes, and though they may predominate
in a particular zone, they may also occur in zones above and below it. Where
two vegetation zones meet there is a transitional zone where species from both
zones occur.
1) Tropical zone:
- upper boundary at about 1000 m
- sal forest
- khayer + sisau forest
2) Sub-tropical zone:
- Range 1000 - 2000 m in the west and 1000 - 1700 m in the east
- khote salla
- chilaune + katus
- utis
3) Lower temperate zone:
- Range 2000 - 2700 m in the west and 1700 - 2400 m in the east
- khasru
- gobre salla
4) Upper temperate zone:
- Range 2700 - 3000 m in the west and 2400 - 2800 m in the east
- banjh;
- gurans;
- upper temperate coniferous forest (gobre salla).
5) Sub-alpine zone:
- Range 3000 - 4200 m in the west and above 3000 m in the east
- Small spiny shrubs are found in the Mustang and Dolpa areas. Species include
gurans, gobre salla and dhupi.
6) Alpine zone:
- Above the snow line
- Species include gurans, dhupi, thorny plants and shrubby species.

Other criteria that species must fulfill for the selection are as follows:
1. Pioneer plants which grow rapidly on degraded land, landslides, gullies and new
road slopes
2. Dense and deep rooting systems which add strength to the surface soil layers
and increase the shear strength
3. Adventitious rooting ability and coverage resistance
4. Fast and simple propagation such as cuttings

The chosen species must also fulfill practical requirements such as;
- Economic value for local population
- Preferences of local population
- Availability of species in local nurseries
- Cost effectiveness.
 Selection of Optimal Technique
Choosing stabilization techniques is a complicated process, which is not fully
understood. Before determining the optimal technique for any slopes, we must
determine the erosion process active on site and whether the stabilization of site
is feasible or not. The process involves establishing whether the cycle of erosion
has reached a stage at which it can be stabilized. If it has not, leave the site until
after the next monsoon and do not carry out any further work at this stage. If it
looks as if stabilization of the site is feasible, you can continue the process of
decision-making.

Many factors determine the optimum technique or combination of techniques, but

only the most important have been included here for the sake of simplicity. The
following four major points needs to be evaluated before applying optimal
technique:
1) Slope angle
This is the primary distinction, as it is used to identify the sites which need
only mild soil conservation treatment, i.e., those less than 30 degree. A
slope steeper than 45 degree has seriously steep angle and will present
greater erosion problems.
2) Slope length
Slope segments longer than 15 meters are open to greater risks in terms of
both gullying and deep-seated failures.
3) Aspect
Aspect is the orientation of a site relative to the sun. In fact, this category
relates to more than just aspect. It covers the environmental dryness of
each individual site.
4) Material Drainage
Those materials, which have poor internal drainage, tend to have high
content of clay relative to sand and silt in the fine fraction. They tend to be
prone to shallow slumping if too much moisture accumulates. Stabilisation
requires some kind of drainage in addition to protection.

Here is the list of some of the optimal techniques that can be applied
depending upon slope angle, slope length, aspect and material drainage.
Limitations of Bioengineering
 Root penetration on foundations and drains.
 Risk of topping onto buildings.
 Choking of waterways with plant growth.
 Cause adverse effects on the performance of concrete and steel.
 Vegetation cannot perform its engineering functions in its initial
stage.
 Suitable only for shallow seated (up to 2m) slide.
 Usually separate nursery needs to be established and managed.
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