Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742

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Engineering Geology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enggeo

The effects of vegetation traits and their stability functions in bio-engineered T

slopes: A perspective review
⁎
Sanandam Bordoloi, Charles Wang Wai Ng
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Bio-engineered slopes use vegetation as “live” protection elements against the triggering forces of landslides,
Landslides erosions and debris flows. In this paper, the effects of basic plant traits (both root and shoot) on their slope
Root reinforcement stability functions in compacted and planned green slopes have been reviewed. This review is based on over 200
Shallow landslides papers on areas primarily related to unsaturated soil mechanics, plant biology, hydrology and ecology. The first
Transpiration induced suction
section of this paper gives an overview of the plant-soil–water continuum, highlighting the key interactions that
Vegetation
Soil erosion, Green infrastructure
determine reinforcing actions of vegetation in sloped soil. The hydraulic pathway (water flow from roots to
atmosphere) and plant response at varying soil stress (suction) is explained. Thereafter, the effects of inherent
plant properties (bio-polymer composition, plant physiological parameters and root morphology) on soil re-
inforcement are discussed. The second section discusses the three stability functions (i.e., mechanical, hydro-
logical and interception reinforcements) of vegetation in slopes. The first two subsections considering me-
chanical and hydrological reinforcement action are catalogued. In the third subsection, the interception
functions of plant (both shoot and root parameters) against erosion and debris flow are illustrated based on
experimental, numerical and field observations. In the last section, the knowledge gaps on the topic of bio-
engineered slope stability are highlighted such as the consideration of plant age effect, plantation strategy and
high suction response of vegetation. The possible negative effects of vegetation towards slope stability resulting
from extreme climate conditions such as extended droughts, forest fires, freeze–thaw cycles and elevated CO2
concentration levels are discussed. The review identifies new research themes for developing futuristic bio-
engineered slopes. The potential of real time monitoring and maintenance of bio-engineered slopes, redefinition
of wilting point and concept of “plant sensors” are also put forth.

1. Introduction
The effects of global climate change result in cycles of extreme
precipitation which bring upon adverse impact on both natural and
man-made slopes (Crozier, 2010; Gariano and Guzzetti, 2016). Ha-
zardous geological processes related to slopes, such as landslides (Korup
et al., 2012), concentrated flow erosion (Knapen et al., 2007) and debris
flow (Prieto et al., 2018) are frequently reported. United Nations En-
vironment Program (UNEP) annual report (Seneviratne et al., 2017)
forecasted that sloped soil mass is susceptible to increased frequency in
shallow landslides, granular material flow and erosion, due to extreme
precipitation events. Landslide is the movement of soil mass down a
slope, under gravitational force. (Van Westen et al., 2003). Approxi-
mately, a fifth of the world’s land surface (Hong et al., 2007) is sus-
ceptible to rainfall induced shallow landslides, resulting in annual
fatality of 4500 and property damages up to 3.2 U.S. billion dollars
(Kim et al., 2017). Debris flow is defined as a very rapid movement or
flow of non-plastic debris (boulder, rock and aggregate) in steep terrain
(Hürlimann et al., 2019). Concentrated flow erosion is the gradual
detachment and displacement of soil particles by concentrated water
flow (Vannoppen et al., 2015). For many centuries, vegetation (both
living or dead mass) had been utilized to stabilize hazardous geological
processes as reported for ancient Roman and Chinese civilizations
(Smith and Snow, 2008; Partov et al., 2016). The design and utilization
of these green infrastructures were basically empirical in nature. With
advent of industrialization in the past century, synthetic reinforcement
measures such as cementitious cover, metal piling and geo-synthetics
were utilized to mitigate adverse geological processes (Koerner, 2012).
The mechanical properties of such synthetic reinforcement materials
are highly controllable and predictive. In today’s age, with dwindling
resources, climate change realization and concern for sustainability,
people are actively seeking eco-friendly and green solutions for

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: sanandam@ust.hk (S. Bordoloi), cecwwng@ust.hk (C.W.W. Ng).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2020.105742
Received 24 April 2020; Received in revised form 19 June 2020; Accepted 20 June 2020
Available online 01 July 2020
0013-7952/ © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng
Fig. 1. Schematic representation on evolution and effect of plant properties, its interaction with soil-atmosphere and resultant effect on vegetated soil properties.
addressing engineering problems.
The current trend towards sustainability has gradually motivated
governments and engineers to rediscover vegetation as an engineering
solution for slope protection. The special report by Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2019) has urged policy makers to in-
crease vegetation plantation in order to combat global CO2 levels. Soil
bioengineering using vegetation in compacted soil slopes was explored
in the past decades (Gray and Sotir, 1996; Simon and Steinemann,
2000). Soil bioengineering provides an eco-friendly, economic and
aesthetically pleasant measure for shallow slope stability and surficial
erosion. Although, the role of vegetation in ecological restoration,
forested slopes and riverbank protection has been reviewed in the past
(Stokes et al., 2009; Pawlik, 2013; Hubble et al., 2017), these studies
mostly consider natural slopes. Moreover, they address singular func-
tion of vegetation (i.e. root reinforcement) on either slope stability or
erosion protection (De Baets and Poesen, 2010; Vannoppen et al.,
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Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
2015). In fact, the hydrological reinforcement provided by plants has
not been comprehensively reviewed, which was explored and quanti-
fied in the past decade. The inherent role of plant traits such as root
architecture, canopy type, bio-polymer composition and microbial in-
teraction on slope protection measures have not been reviewed. Plants
being diverse in species, it is rather prudent to comprehend the effect of
their basic traits with slope stability functions, especially in the context
of compacted and planned green slopes. Furthermore, the limitations of
using vegetation as well as the negative effects of plants in slope sta-
bility functions were majorly neglected. This, is especially relevant
where climate change has recently exposed the slopes to extreme events
such as fires, increase in droughts and acid rain. The complex interac-
tion between plant-soil-atmosphere and their competing effects on
plant growth make the subject matter highly interdisciplinary (Blight,
1997). This study attempts to provide a state-of-the-art on the role of
vegetation in engineered slope stability by reviewing the effect of
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng
Fig. 2. Schematic illustration of (a) “Soil-Water-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum” in context of an engineered vegetated slope; (b) Hydraulic pathway through a plant
during transpiration.
inherent plant traits/parameters with that of its slope stability and
protection functions. The work provides the reader a simple and holistic
understanding of stability functions provided by plants in context of
engineered vegetated slopes. Majority of the discussion in this review is
from the perspective of unsaturated soil mechanics and material sci-
ence, while the role of plant parameters is discussed in parallel.
The discussion in this review paper was divided into three major
sections. In the first major section, the plant-soil-atmosphere continuum
was put forward. This section is sub-divided by initially explaining the
hydraulic pathway through which plants survive, grow and induce
changes to soil moisture. The second sub-division identifies basic plant
traits (bio-polymer composition, root architecture, canopy, stomatal
conductance) and juxtaposes their role in slope stability applications.
The second major section provides a detailed overview of the major
stability functions provided by plants in slope. i.e. mechanical
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Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
reinforcement, hydraulic reinforcement and interception. The me-
chanical reinforcement deals with stress–strain response of rooted soil
whereas the hydraulic reinforcement deals with increase in negative
pore water pressure (i.e. suction) due to transpiration. Interception
functions include protection given by vegetation against particle de-
tachment, debris damping and canopy interception. Based on the
abovementioned sections, the third section highlights new gap areas
and future scope in engineered vegetated slopes. At first, the negative
effects of vegetation towards slope stability accounting extreme climate
conditions were put forward as one of the major gap areas in the topic.
Second, plantation strategy based on plant trait type, spacing effect,
tree pruning, capillary barrier usage was highlighted. Third, usage of
smart monitoring approaches to maintain vegetation in slopes and
concept of “plant sensors” were put forth. The fourth subsection dis-
cusses biomaterials and nature-based alterations that could boost plants
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng
traits for slope protection measures.
The literature about effect of vegetation traits on slope stability is
broad and interdisciplinary. The authors focus primarily on the pub-
lications having keywords “vegetated slope”, “bio-engineered slopes”,
“soil suction”, “unsaturated soil”, “root reinforcement”, “transpiration”,
“hydrological reinforcement”, “erosion”, “landslide”, “debris flow” and
“drought”. More than 200 works on the keywords given above have
been reviewed considering different soil types, plant species, plant
parameters, slope angle, analysis type, plant age effect, spacing and
root depth profiles. The authors limit the review to peer-reviewed pa-
pers in scientific journals, technical conference proceedings, peer re-
viewed book chapters on relevant topic and exclude any grey literature.
These studies include laboratory investigation, field monitoring and
numerical assessment of vegetated soil. The scientific databases utilized
for the search in this review paper were “Science Direct”, “Science
Citation Index Expanded”, “Google scholar”, “Mendeley” and “Scopus”.
2. Plant-soil–water interaction
Fig. 1 provides a concentric framework on the evolution and effect
of basic plant properties, its interaction with soil water status and re-
sultant effect on vegetated soil properties. These properties determine
the stability of a vegetated slope. Stomatal conductance (SC), root type
and photosynthesis rate govern the hydraulic pathway of a plant
through which water is transferred from the soil to atmosphere (Wong
et al., 1979; Brodribb, 2009). In Section 3, detailed discussion is done
on how induced suction due to this hydraulic pathway affects the sta-
bility of vegetated slopes. Bio-polymer distribution and root type de-
termine the mechanical reinforcements given by plants underneath the
soil surface (Abdi et al., 2014; Genet et al., 2005). The plant properties
are also governed by the soil and atmospheric conditions. These con-
ditions can be categorized as soil density effect, pH and salt sensitivity,
drought tolerance, sunlight exposure, wind effects, CO2 concentration
and mycorrhiza biota effects (Garg, 2015; Garg and Ng, 2015; Ng et al.,
2019a,b). Engineered slopes are generally compacted, have limited
water recharge sources and are generally in the vicinity of industry or
urban spaces (Chatterjea, 2011; Tardío and Mickovski, 2016). These
urban spaces are exposed to pollutants, high CO2 concentration and
limited sunlight. For landfill slopes and mining sites, vegetation in
slopes interact with extreme pH conditions, lower mycorrhiza con-
centration and are exposed to methane gas (Börjesson et al., 2004; Chen
et al., 2016). Survival and growth of vegetation may be hindered or
accelerated, depending upon the exposed condition. All the aforemen-
tioned plant traits and their interaction affect the mechanical para-
meters (shear strength, soil aggregation, erodibility, desiccation
cracking) and hydraulic parameters (soil water retention, porosity, in-
filtration, gas flow) of rooted soil in slopes. The next sub-section dis-
cusses in detail some of the basic plant traits and their relevancy to
slope stability.
The “soil–water–plant–atmosphere” continuum in context of vege-
tated slope is presented in Fig. 2a. Vegetated slopes are exposed to the
allied processes of atmosphere such as evapotranspiration, precipita-
tion, radiant energy and wind action. Evapotranspiration is the sum of
total loss of water due to evaporation from the soil surface and tran-
spiration through the plant leaves (Allen et al., 1994). Shallow land-
slides in vegetated slope happen progressively by the formation of slip
surfaces during precipitation events of high intensity and magnitude
(Ciurleo et al., 2017). Slip surface is defined as the surface plane along
which a soil mass in a slope slides or detaches (Morgenstern and Price,
1965). The slip surfaces can be exacerbated by local faults and dis-
continuities such as surface desiccation cracks, root decay, preferential
erosion paths and fauna intrusion. Slope failure in vegetated soil can
also be triggered due to combined effects of tree uprooting upon
windstorm along with high precipitation (Abe and Ziemer, 1991).
Fig. 2a showcases the cyclic events (precipitation-evapotranspiration
and freezing-thawing) that a vegetated soil generally undergoes and
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Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
their corresponding effects on slope stability parameters. Precipitation
results in buildup of pore water pressure (due to infiltration), increases
particle detachment and initiates debris flow due to concentrated sur-
face runoff (Matsuura et al., 2008). Evapotranspiration is favorable to
slope stability as it builds up negative pore water pressure (suction) and
consequently decreases the hydraulic conductivity of vegetated soil (Ng
et al., 2019a). However, based on soil type, excessive evapotranspira-
tion is detrimental, as it leads to the formation of desiccation cracks
(Cheng et al., 2020) which are precursors to slip surface development
during precipitation events (Hobbs et al., 2002). Freezing and thawing
are associated with decrease in plant transpiration, formation of surface
cracks and change in soil retention due to microstructural arrangement
(Wynn and Mostaghimi, 2006; Zhou et al., 2011). Excessive evapo-
transpiration with no natural water recharge for plants and virgin
freezing of non-resilient native plants may lead to plant death and result
in root decay (Johnson, 2018).
2.1. Hydraulic pathway of plants
Vascular plants (trees, grass and shrubs) use vascular tissues such as
xylem and phloem to transport water from the vicinity of the roots to
the atmosphere through the plant leaves. In bio-engineered slopes,
mostly vascular plants are used as they have water absorbing and
transportation mechanisms, which facilitate both hydrological and
mechanical reinforcement to soil (Ng et al., 2019a). On a global scale,
vascular plants transport back more than half of the 1,10,000 km3 y−1
of precipitation which falls on land each year (Chahine, 1992). Water
moves from root hairs in soil through xylem tissues in the plant to at-
mosphere through leaf stoma (Fig. 2b), along a continuum of increas-
ingly negative water potential or suction (ψ) (Aroca et al., 2012). Plants
synthesize carbon-based polymers for growth through a process called
“photosynthesis”. Photosynthesis depends on CO2 intake from atmo-
sphere and water up taken from roots. Photosynthesis happens in
leaves, wherein CO2 is ingested from atmosphere, while at the same
time, water is lost through their stomata (Lefi et al., 2004). Stomata
(Fig. 2b) are attributed to being pressure regulators of a plant; wherein
they limit xylem and tissue water pressure from reaching damaging
values by regulating water flow through soil–plant hydraulic pathway
(Jackson et al., 2000). Xylem cavitation, xylem anatomy and root ar-
chitecture influence leaf water supply and plant water usage (Linton
and Nobel, 2001). Sequential water movement (soil-root-xylem-leaf)
under increasingly negative pressure happens due to capillary forces as
per the cohesion-tension theory (Steudle, 2001; Novick et al., 2016).
Capillarity dominates sap-water flow due to capillary radius (Fig. 3a) in
the xylem being smaller for stem as compared with deeper roots
(Jackson et al., 2000). Cavitation may occur in the xylem when water
tension exceeds atmospheric pressure, wherein sap water vaporizes
locally so that the vessel elements are filled with water vapor (Cochard
et al., 1996; Poggi et al., 2007). Excessive cavitation resists sap water
flow and reduces the photosynthesis yield of plants leading to tree
mortality (Fig. 3b). Cavitation and consequent wilting upon drought
stresses are significant in context of vegetated slope stability, as they
gradually decrease the plant transpiration. Furthermore, root decay
upon wilting can lead to preferential flow of water in the slope through
decayed roots which can exacerbate the development of concentrated
pore water pressure (Mitchell et al., 1995; Perillo et al., 1999). Al-
though unlikely, water logging in localized sections of the vegetated
slope reduces transpiration and can even lead to plant death due to
limited dissolved oxygen and oxidized nitrogen (Drew, 1997). Feddes
(1982) proposed the popular transpiration reduction function (TRF)
which relates soil matric suction with plant transpiration rate and is
incorporated as a sink term within the soil water transfer equation
(Richards, 1931). Four major suction points are defined in the tran-
spiration reduction function (TRF), namely, (i) Anaerobiosis point (ψ1),
Maximum transpiration point (ψ2 ), Field capacity point (ψ3 ) and Wilting
point (ψ4 ). The schematic relationship of the TRF with SC is shown in
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng
Fig. 3. (a) Capillary pore size variation along the xylem tissue (Jackson et al., 2000); (b) Schematic illustration of plant basic trait and plant hydraulic phenomenon
with soil matric suction.
Fig. 3b. Optimum functioning of the hydraulic pathway helps in plant
growth through photosynthesis and induces suction, conducive to slope
stability.
2.2. Basic plant traits and their relationship with slope stability
Fig. 4a presents a “Ying and Yan” presentation of the inter-
dependent soil-root interaction that determines the mechanical strength
of rooted soil in slopes. The parameters mentioned and their inter-
dependency are systematically discussed in this section. Vascular plants
are composed of shoot biomass above ground and root biomass below
ground. Both shoot and root architecture are based on interdependent
factors such as plant family, soil type and temperature tolerance
(Lynch, 1995; López-Bucio et al., 2003). Trees develop different root
systems such as tuft root system, taproot system and heart shaped roots.
Taproot systems with varied lateral branching or uniform fibrous
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Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
systems are also found in grass species (Ghestem et al., 2011). Re-
gardless of the species type, finer roots assist in imparting shear
strength of the slope by forming a complex fibrous network at shallow
soil depth, while broad roots generally act as anchorage elements
resting upon the hard bedrock (Mao et al., 2013). A higher ratio of finer
roots to broad roots by volume assist in water and nutrient uptake as
reported in literature (Haling et al., 2013). It was generally believed
that smaller the root diameter, higher is the root tensile strength ob-
served (Mao et al., 2013, 2018, Mahannopkul and Jotisankasa, 2019).
The variation in tensile strength (Tr) with root diameter (dr) was ex-
pressed as per the commonly adopted power decay law (Eq. (1)) to
measure the so-called “root cohesion” (De Baets et al., 2008).
Tr = k1dr −k2 (1)
where k1 and k2 are empirical fitting co-efficients, quantitatively posi-
tive and species dependent. The next major section and Table 1
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng
Fig. 4. Schematic illustration of (a) soil-root interaction in terms of basic parameters that govern mechanical strength of rooted soil, (b) Effect of root architecture in
slopes on preferential flow during precipitation (after Ghestem et al., 2011).
extensively discuss different existing models on rooted shear strength
which incorporate this power relation. Boldrin et al. (2017a) conducted
uni-axial root tensile strength tests on 10 species with different root
diameter, native to temperate Europe. The result highlight that Tr re-
lationship with dr does not necessarily follow the popular power decay
law, and obeys three different fitting relationships, i.e. positive power
decay trend, bi-modal trend and negative power decay trend. This
variability with root diameter was explained by the differences between
root primary and secondary structures in the tested samples. Primary
structures are composed of high volume of young cortex tissues (which
have less amount of cellulose and hemicellulose biopolymer) (Gregory
et al., 2009). On the other hand, Tr was observed to be higher in roots
(regardless of age) which had higher secondary xylem tissues (thick
lignified cell walls) and cortex was relatively lower.
Root tensile strength is directly related to the inherent bio-polymer
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Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
composition i.e. proportion of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.
Cellulose is the primary strength contributing bio-polymer component
and is constituted of polymer chains of glucose units linked together by
highly resistant H-bonds (Khalil et al., 2015). Hemicellulose are poly-
saccharides of plant cell walls, having low molecular weight. They
impart secondary strength to the root fiber by forming cross linkage
between cellulose fibril aggregate and in turn also form complexes with
lignin (Delmer and Amor, 1995). Cellulose polymer chains group to-
gether in a hemicellulose matrix to collectively form a micro fibril,
which then arrange in a helical structure to form a macro fibril. The
angle at which these micro fibrils arrange with respect to the lumen is
called micro fibrillary angle (MFA). In plant science, lumen is defined as
a continuous aqueous phase enclosed by the thylakoid membrane
which plays an essential role for photophosphorylation during photo-
synthesis (Kieselbach and Schröder, 2003). Lower MFA leads to higher
 Table 1
Chronological overview on mechanical reinforcement of vegetated slope.
Reference Species* Soil type** Analysis type* Root parameter Slope Consideration for ΔS FS
considered* gradient
Root Root Tensile Vegetation Mucilage/
branching strength spacing Mycorrhizae effects
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng

Chok et al. (2004) NA Sand Numerical (FEM, LEA) NA 26° x x x x x ✓

Pollen and Simon (2005) Multiple species (12) Silt Field and lab RAR NA x ✓ x x ✓ ✓
Baets et al. (2008) Multiple species (25) Multiple Soil Theoretical and lab test RAR x ✓ ✓ x x ✓ x
types
Danjon et al. (2008) Quercus alba Sand Lab and numerical RAR 12-18° ✓ ✓ ✓ x ✓ ✓
(LEA)
Fan and Su (2008) Sesbania cannabina Sand Field (in-situ shear test) RAR, RER x x ✓ x x ✓ x
Genet et al. (2008) Cryptomeria japonica Clay soil Field, Lab, Numerical RLD, RAR (33-35°) x ✓ ✓ x ✓ ✓
Hales et al. (2009) Multiple species (15) Sandy-silty loam In-situ and lab RAR, Root cellulose NA x ✓ x x ✓ x
content
Pollen-Pollen-Bankhead and Multiple species (16) Silt Field, lab and numerical RAR NA x ✓ x x ✓ ✓
Simon (2009)
Preti and Giadrossich (2009) Spartium junceum Clay-silty Field RAR 50° x ✓ x x ✓ ✓
Fan and Chen (2010) Multiple species (5) Sand and clay Field (in-situ shear test) RAR, RER x ✓ ✓ x x ✓ x
Lin et al. (2010) Makino bamboo Silty clay, Clayey In-situ test and x 50-70° ✓ ✓ x x ✓ ✓
silt numerical modelling
Sonnenberg et al. (2010) Willow Silty sand Centrifuge modelling x 330 x ✓ x x ✓ ✓
Thomas and Pollen-Bankhead Multiple species (22) NA Sensitivity analysis Root orientation factor NA ✓ ✓ x x ✓ x
(2010)
Zhang et al. (2010) Robinia pseucdoacacia Loess Lab RAR NA x ✓ x x ✓ x
Burylo et al. (2011) Multiple species (6) Weathered Lab test (Coulomb RAR x x ✓ x x ✓ x
regolith envelope)

7
Fattet et al. (2011) Vernicia fordii, Artemisia Clay loam Field (in-situ shear test) RLD x x ✓ x x ✓ x
codonocephala
Ali et al. (2012) Mature lime tree Boulder clay Numerical (LEA) NA 20° x ✓ x x x ✓
Ghestem et al. (2014) Ricinus communis, Jatropha curcas, Alluvial silty clay Lab Root number, NA ✓ ✓ x x ✓ x
Rhus chinensis Branching density
Haling et al. (2014) Hordeum vulgare Sand Lab Shoot dry mass, Root NA x ✓ x ✓ x x
hair length
Mao et al. (2014) Multiple species Coarse sand 3-D numerical x 25-45° x ✓ ✓ x x ✓
modelling
Yildiz et al. (2015) Alnus incana, Trifolium pratense, Poorly graded Laboratory x 30° x x x ✓ ✓ x
Poa pratensis sand
Liang et al. (2015) NA Silica sand Dynamic centrifuge RAR, Root geometry NA x ✓ x x ✓ x
modelling
Veylon et al. (2015) Jatropha curcas, Rhus chinensis, Silty clay Lab RAR NA x ✓ x x ✓ x
Ricinus communis
Chiaradia et al. (2016) Spruce, chestnut, beech tree Umbrisols, Lab and numerical RAR, RLD 20-50° ✓ ✓ x x ✓ ✓
Cambisols (LEA)
Leung et al. (2017) NA CDG Centrifuge and RAR, Root geometry 45-60° ✓ ✓ x x x ✓
numerical
Boldrin et al. (2017a) Multiple species (10) Sandy loam Lab test RSR, RLD x x x x x x x
Das et al. (2017a) Cynadon Dactylon (CD), Schefflera CDG Field and Probabilistic NA 33° x x x x x ✓
heptaphylla (SH) Modelling
Das et al. (2017b) CD, SH CDG Field and Probabilistic NA 33° x x x x x ✓
Modelling
Demenois et al. (2017) Costularia arundinacea, Tristaniopsis Sandy loam LAB RLD, RMD, Specific x x x x ✓ ✓ x
glauca, Arillastrum gummiferum root length
Kim et al. (2017) Multiple species Multiple soils Meta-analysis and NA NA x ✓ x x x ✓
Numerical
(continued on next page)
Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
 Table 1 (continued)

Reference Species* Soil type** Analysis type* Root parameter Slope Consideration for ΔS FS
considered* gradient
Root Root Tensile Vegetation Mucilage/
branching strength spacing Mycorrhizae effects

Liang and Knappett (2017a) NA Sand Dynamic centrifuge Root geometry NA x ✓ x x x ✓

S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng

modelling
Liang and Knappett (2017b) NA Sand Dynamic centrifuge RAR, Root geometry 57° x ✓ x x x ✓
modelling
Liang et al. (2017) Willow, Gorse and Festulolium Sandy loam Centrifuge modelling RAR, RLD, Root NA x ✓ x x ✓ x
grass biomass
0
Zhu et al. (2017) NA Sand Probabilistic RLD 37 x x x x x ✓
Boldrin et al. (2018) Corylus avellana, Ulex europaeus Sandy loam Lab test (Penetration Root biomass, RLD x x ✓ x x ✓ x
strength)
Chen et al. (2018) Arabidopsis thaliana CDG Lab test Plant biomass, fungal x x ✓ x ✓ ✓ x
colonization
Das et al. (2018) CD, SH CDG Field and Probabilistic RAI 30-50° x x x x x ✓
Modelling
Demenois et al. (2018) Costularia arundinacea, Tristaniopsis Sandy loam Field RLD, RMD, Percentage x x x x ✓ ✓ x
glauca, Arillastrum gummiferum finer
Liang et al. (2019) NA Silica sand Dynamic centrifuge RAR NA ✓ ✓ x x x ✓
modelling
Ni et al. (2019b) Schefflera arboricola CDG Field and lab RAR NA x ✓ ✓ x ✓ x
Yildiz et al. (2020) Multiple species Clayey sand Lab Root biomass NA x x x ✓ x x

* Not applicable (NA), Root area ratio (RAR), Root cohesion (Cr), Leaf area Index (LAI), Root-shoot ratio (RSR), Root length density (RLD), Completely decomposed granite (CDG), Limit Equilibrium Approach (LEA),
Root mass density (RMD), Root efficiency ratio (RER), Root area Index (RAI), ΔS = Increase in shear strength for vegetated soil, Factor of safety (Fs).

8
** Soil classification as per Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) or U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) system.
Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng
root tensile strength and stiffness, while a higher MFA results in higher
root ductility (Hearle and Morton, 2008), regardless of cellulose con-
tent. Lignin, a phenolic polymer, with high molecular weight imparts
function for mechanical support, water uptake through the xylem and
resists biodegradation (Reddy and Yang, 2005; Khalil et al., 2015).
Lignocellulose materials experience volume change with respect to
their moisture status (Bordoloi et al., 2017). During a drying cycle,
when plant roots are water stressed (refer Fig. 3b) they shrink in size
(within the rhizosheath) and result in preferential flow during sub-
sequent rainfall events (Ghestem et al., 2010). The rhizosheath can be
defined as the soil layer that adheres to the plant roots due to the for-
mation of root hairs and mucilage. It essentially helps in improving
water and nutrient uptake (Basirat et al., 2019). The orientation of roots
along the slope and root architecture affect the stability of the slope
during rainfall events (Fig. 4b). Orientation of roots downslope is
beneficial in draining out water, whereas upslope alignment cause
formation of localized zones of high pore-water pressure. Depending on
the position and orientation regarding the tree trunk, fork formation in
root system either exacerbate or dissipate zones of high pore-water
pressure. Conditions in which root curvature converges, high pore-
water pressure zones are formed within the slope. Herbaceous or grass
roots on the other hand uniformly distribute water flux into the soil,
which minimizes concentrated pore-water pressure zones and even
bridges detrimental desiccation cracks (Bordoloi et al., 2015).
Soil stress history and soil density also effect the tensile effect of
roots by altering the proportion of cellulose and bio-mass growth
(Wilson et al., 1977; Correa et al., 2019). Over-consolidated soil char-
acterized with low level of O2 (condition known as hypoxia/anoxia),
plant available water and nutrients can cause reduction in root growth.
Bingham et al., (2010) investigated the effect of soil density and ni-
trogen availability on the proportion of root cellulose-hemicellulose,
canopy and root biomass growth of Hordeum vulgare. Soil density from
0.9 g/cc to 1.1 g/cc resulted in a root and shoot biomass decrease by
42% and 47%, respectively. In fact, the increase in density resulted in a
decrease in the cellulose-hemicellulose concentration by 30%, thus
decreasing root tensile strength. However, increase in soil density at
lower available N content, increases the lignin concentration con-
siderably, reducing chances of root decay by microbes. Chen et al.
(2018) found that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi application to rooted
soil (in vetiver grass) increased the tensile strength of the root, as their
fungi-root symbiosis resulted in higher cellulose content.
Plants induce additional negative pore water pressure (or suction)
within the root depth by transpiration (or root water uptake). This
provides additional shear strength based on governing shear strength
equation later explained in Section 3.2. Several plant traits that can
potentially help an engineer to induce greater hydrological reinforce-
ment to sloped soil are showcased in Fig. 5a. The principal-component
plot based on 14 plant traits carried out on 10 different species, seg-
regate the traits associated with hydrological reinforcement, plant
growth and transpiration (Boldrin et al., 2017a). Principal component
analysis is a technique used to emphasize variation and bring out strong
patterns in a dataset. The technique basically reduces the dimension-
ality of a dataset, while preserving as much ‘variability’ (statistical in-
formation) as possible (Jolliffe and Cadima, 2016). In Fig. 5a, a prin-
cipal-component (PC) biplot (Boldrin et al., 2017a) is shown from the
projection of plant traits and soil hydromechanical characteristics on
the plane composed by the two first explanatory axes (Component 1:
48% of variation; Component 2: 24% of variation). The small angles
between soil hydromechanical characteristics (i.e. matric suction and
penetration resistance) and plant traits (specific leaf area; root length
density; root: shoot ratio) have strong correlations among these para-
meters. Thus, plant properties such as root length density (RLD), spe-
cific leaf area (SLA) and root to shoot ratio (RSR) should be selected to
provide reinforcements against rain-induced landslides. Thus, plant
properties such as root length density (RLD), specific leaf area (SLA)
and root to shoot ratio (RSR) should be selected to provide
9
Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
reinforcements against rain-induced landslides. Root length density
(RLD) is defined as the total length of roots per unit volume of soil. RLD
in indicative of the soil volume explored by a root system in search of
soil water and nutrients (Aziz et al., 2017). Specific leaf area is defined
as the ratio of leaf area a plant builds with a given amount of dry leaf
biomass (Boldrin et al., 2017a). Its unit is in m2.kg−1. The induced
suction with increase in the aforementioned plant traits are shown in
Fig. 5b. Ng et al. (2019a) have shown that increase in leaf area index
(LAI) and root area index (RAI) of S. heptaphylla resulted in an almost
linear increase in retained suction (Fig. 5c) which restrict water ingress
during rainfall events. The transpiration efficiency increases 6-fold with
higher SC (25–175 mmol m−2 s−1) of the species, based on measure-
ments of 10 different species (Fig. 5d). However, very high SC of Vigna
unguiculata (400 mmol m−2 s−1) could be detrimental for slope stabi-
lity application as it results in desiccation cracks due to excessive
transpiration (Gadi et al., 2017). It is to be noted that root tensile
strength of this species was very less than fibrous or woody plants used
for bio-engineered slopes (Ng et al., 2019c).
3. Slope stabilization function of plants
Fig. 6a presents a schematic representation of the slope stabilization
function of vegetation, which can be discussed under three headings.
They are, (i) Mechanical or root reinforcement, (ii) Hydrological re-
inforcement, and (iii) Interception function. Both the root and shoot
architecture provide these functions. Mechanical reinforcement in-
cludes tensile force mobilization, anchorage upon hard stratum, soil
aggregation by root growth and secretion of cohesive enzymes called
mucilage. The hydrological reinforcement happens two-fold by re-
moving water from soil by transpiration and by storage in woody and
deciduous trees. The interception function primarily relates to soil
erosion and debris damping as well as interception. All three functions
are systematically discussed in detail below.
3.1. Mechanical reinforcement
The shear strength of root permeated soil was generally explored
(refer Table 1) by estimating the so-called additional root cohesion (ΔS )
and incorporating them in slope stability works. The complex nature of
root–soil interaction makes modelling and quantification of root re-
inforcement in soil, a challenging endeavor. Wu et al. (1979) and
Waldron and Dakessian (1981) are credited for initiating one of the
foremost shear strength models for root permeated soil. The perpen-
dicular shear strength model considers the fundamental Mohr-coulomb
shear strength model (Eq. (2)) and extends it for root permeated soil
(Eq. (3)):
S = C + σN . tan (ϕ) (2)
S = C + (ΔS ) + σN . tan (ϕ) (3)
where S is shear strength of soil, C is cohesion due to soil matrix, σN is
the acting stress normal to shear plane and ϕ is the soil friction angle.
The additional root cohesion component (ΔS ) is the summation of
mobilized tensile stress due to root fibers per unit area of soil. ΔS is
dependent on the calculation of root tensile strength (Tr) and the soil
cross-section fraction occupied by the root architecture (i.e. RAR).
Mathematically it is represented in Eq. (4).
ΔS = K. Tr . RAR (4)
where K is an empirical factor (1–1.3) accounting for the decomposition
of Tr along tangential and normal component on the shear plane.
However, this model tends to over-estimate root reinforcement based
on the inherent assumption that full tensile strength of each individual
root was mobilized during shearing. Subsequently, Pollen et al. (2004),
came up with the fiber-bundle model of estimating shear strength,
which accounts for progressive breakage of roots and redistribution of
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742

Fig. 5. (a) Biplot projection of plant traits and soil hydro-mechanical parameters; (b) SLA, RLD, RSR relation with matric suction of soil; (c) Effect of LAI, RAI on
suction increment for S. heptaphylla (Ng et al., 2019a); (c) SC relation with transpiration efficiency (a, b and d data considering 10 different species from (Boldrin
et al., 2017a).

loads along the root system. Comparative analysis, using a multitude of Limit equilibrium theory was generally used for calculating shallow
species showed that the developed fiber bundle model (RipRoot algo- slope stability using factor of safety (Fs) approach (Eq. (5)).
rithm) provided better root reinforcement estimations (Bischetti et al.,
2009; Hales et al., 2009; Mickovski et al., 2009; Ji et al., 2012). Acting force
FS =
Shallow landslides in vegetated slopes usually occur in colluvium Resisting force (5)
soil layer (Milledge et al., 2014). In slope failure modelling, colluvium
soil mass can be considered as a rigid volume of thin soil (Fig. 6) sliding If the slope is vegetated with trees (Chiaradia et al., 2016), Fs can be
on a planar shear surface (Casadei et al., 2003; Dietrich et al., 2007). written as shown in Eq. (6).

10
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng
Fig. 6. Schematic representation of (a) Slope stabilization function of vegetation; (b) Idealized representation of hillslope stability parameters considered for pre-
dicting factor of safety (Fs) based on limit equilibrium approach (modified after (Chiaradia et al., 2016)).
FS
CS + Cr _b +
AL
. Cs +
AL
. CR _L + [(D . γS − Dw . γw + q0).
AB AB
= In-situ measurement of rooted shear strength for shallow slope
(D . γS + Dw . γsat + q0 ) sin∝
The notations for Eq. (6) are given in Fig. 6. Based on literature
(Schmidt et al., 2001; Rickli and Graf, 2009), D can be assumed as equal
to 1 and the ratio AL was approximated with a value of 0.5 (Milledge
AB
et al., 2014).
In literature, the ΔS and Fs approach for estimating slope stability
was incorporated in conjunction or separately and tabulated in Table 1.
The species selected in these studies incorporating mechanical effects of
plant reinforcement, mostly were of mature medium trees and grass.
The change in mechanical reinforcements with plant age has been
hardly incorporated in majority of these studies. Plant age changes the
bio-polymer composition ratio in the roots affecting root tensile
strength as previously discussed in Section 2.2. The aforementioned
approaches of root tensile strength and Fs do not incorporate inherent
variations in root tensile strength that arise due to root decay (Ni et al.,
2019a) and root moisture status (Methacanon et al., 2010). Further-
more, majority of the studies listed in Table 1 measure the additional
root reinforcement based on point measurement or in-situ shear test
and do not incorporate the spatial variation of root strength from tree
trunk. Plant spacing effects on root tensile strength (Genet et al., 2008;
Ng et al., 2019c) due to interplant competition and root diameter
variability was majorly neglected. Detrimental local soil slippage oc-
currence was observed by Genet et al. (2008) if spacing was too high.
Loades et al. (2010) based on laboratory tests on Hordeum vulgare,
found that the spacing effects on soil shear strength ceases with growth
period (from 5 to 20 weeks in this case). The incorporation of slope
angle was majorly accounted for numerical studies wherein the addi-
tional root reinforcement by ΔS approach was considered. In the recent
past, incorporation of vegetated shear strength parameters (apparent
Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
cohesion and shear strength) to estimate Fs, was discussed under a
cos ∝)] tan∅/ probabilistic framework (Das et al., 2017a, b, 2018).
stability was done by various instruments. The most common approach
(6) was by taking undisturbed rooted soil sample of known dimension from
field and conducting laboratory direct shear tests on the sample (Fattet
et al., 2011; Das et al., 2017a,b; Das et al., 2018). This approach re-
quires careful sampling wherein the moisture status and pore size dis-
tribution of the sample need to be preserved to get representative shear
strength parameters. Das et al. (2017b) based on copula distribution
analysis observed that vegetation induces more uncertainties in shear
parameters than hydraulic parameters. Hence, in-situ shear strength
measurement is advisable to reduce the uncertainties that involve
sample handling. In-situ-direct shear box test approach, wherein the
shear box is embedded in the vegetated soil (Fan and Su, 2008; Fan and
Chen, 2010; Yildiz et al., 2018; Yildiz et al., 2020) was used for me-
chanical shear strength estimation. Yildiz et al. (2018) developed an
inclinable large-scale direct shear apparatus that can be used in inclined
bio-engineered slopes for soils exhibiting dilatancy under saturated
condition. In bio-engineered slopes, wherein mature tree species are
planted, the shear strength provided by the mature root system was
estimated by conducting pull-out resistance test (Nilaweera and
Nutalaya, 1999; Lin et al., 2010). The penetrometer method which
measures the penetration resistance by a loading gauge was also used to
measure soil aggregation and soil shear strength in vegetated plots
(Boldrin et al., 2016; Boldrin et al., 2017a,b; Boldrin et al., 2018). The
“corkscrew method” of measuring shear strength of rooted soil (Meijer
et al., 2018; Meijer et al., 2019) in field conditions was found to be ideal
due to its ease of use and short test duration. However, it is only feasible
for small trees and grass species with shallow root depth.
Implementing a full-scale field monitoring is usually expensive, time
consuming and often difficult to trigger a real time failure to identify
the failure mechanism for safety reasons. In the past decade, effect of
11
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng
Fig. 7. Geotechnical centrifuge modelling using (a) Live roots (Liang et al., 2017) (b) Root analogues (Liang and Knappett, 2017b).
vegetation on slope stability in terms of mechanical strength has been
explored by conducting geotechnical centrifuge tests. The scaled
models using root reinforcements are spun to attain higher gravity
forces on the model such that stresses in the model are equal to those
expected in field conditions during failure. Roots have previously been
modelled by either using live plants (Sonnenberg et al., 2010;
Askarinejad and Springman, 2014; Ng et al., 2016a; Liang et al., 2017)
or root analogues (Sonnenberg et al., 2012; Eab et al., 2014; Liang
et al., 2015). Live plants (Fig. 7a) can model root mechanical effects but
are non-repeatable and time consuming to grow plants in the centrifuge
box. Root analogues (Fig. 7b) can be used to model mechanical
(Sonnenberg et al., 2010) and hydro-mechanical effects (Ng et al.,
2016a; Leung et al., 2017). They have advantage of high repeatability,
accurate root architecture and can be quickly produced. The seismic
performance of rooted slopes using dynamic finite-element analysis,
validated against centrifuge test data has gained traction in the recent
past (Liang et al., 2015; Liang and Knappett, 2017a,b; Liang et al.,
2019).
3.2. Hydrological reinforcement
Plant transpiration (hydraulic pathway described in Section 2.1)
initiates additional lowering down of the water content with corre-
sponding increase in matric suction within the root zone. These “hy-
drologic effects” due to root water uptake induce change in soil shear
strength and hydraulic conductivity, which govern shallow slope sta-
bility (Ng and Menzies, 2007). The shear strength of an unsaturated soil
(τf ) in terms of volumetric water content (θ) and matric suction (ψ) is
expressed as in Eq. (7):
θ − θr ⎞ ⎤
τf = c ' + (σn − ua)tan∅' + (ua − u w ) ⎡ (tan∅') ⎛
⎜ ⎟
⎢ ⎝ θs − θr ⎠ ⎥
⎣ ⎦
'
where c is effective cohesion; σn is normal stress; ua is pore-air pressure;
Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
u w is pore-water pressure; ∅' is effective friction angle; θs is saturated
water content and θr is residual water content. (ua − u w ) is re-
presentation of the negative pore water pressure or matric suction in
the soil. Fig. 8a shows the soil water retention curve (SWRC) of bare soil
and vegetated soil with Schefflera heptaphylla grown in field conditions
with same initial compaction state. Similar SWRC response was also
seen for bare soil and soil with grass species (Axonopus compressus)
grown in laboratory conditions. Both studies indicate that at the same
water content or saturation, root permeated soil retains more matric
suction in comparison to bare soil, thus increase τf as per Eq. (7).
Hydraulic conductivity (k) in unsaturated soil depend on the ψ as
well as void ratio (e) of the soil. Fig. 8b is a representative relationship
of k with ψ and is popularly known as “hydraulic conductivity function
(HCF)” in the field of soil mechanics. Mathematically, Eq. (8) represents
this function, wherein it is seen that after a particular suction, hydraulic
conductivity is inversely related with ψ.
b θ (e y ) − e(ψ) ' y
⎡ ∫ln(ψ) ey
θ (e )dy ⎤
k(ψ) = k s ⎢ b θ (e y ) − θs ' y
⎥
⎢∫ θ (e )dy ⎥
⎣ ln(ψAEV ) ey ⎦ (8)
Here, b = ln(106), ks is saturated hydraulic conductivity, y is a
dummy variable for integration of ψ and θ' is the first derivative of
function θ. AEV also called air–entry value is the suction at which air
protrudes in the soil matrix upon drying. Based on Eqs. (7) and (8), it is
evident that plant induced suction increases soil shear strength and
reduces water permeability. Unsaturated vegetated slope under rainfall
can thus preserve additional amount of soil suction enhancing shear
strength and reducing water infiltration (delayed pore water pressure
development in rhizosphere). The hydrological effects of vegetated
slope incorporating SWRC and hydraulic conductivity was recently
studied for field and lab conditions as shown in Table 2.
(7)
Ng et al. (2016b) developed a novel void ratio dependent theoretical
model to estimate the SWRC and HCF of root permeated soil. It
12
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng
Fig. 8. (a) Soil-water retention curve (Ng et al., 2016c; Bordoloi et al., 2018), (b) typical hydraulic conductivity function, and (c) phase diagram of root permeated
soil (after Ng et al., 2016c).
considers void ratio change in soil through volume reduction of air
voids due to root permeation (Fig. 8c). This modified void ratio (e) of
rooted soil (Eq. (9)) was then fed into a void ratio dependent SWRC
model (Gallipoli et al., 2003) and HCF model (van Genuchten, 1980) to
predict any resultant change in property. The developed model was
verified (Ng et al., 2016b,c) to replicate both field and laboratory
measurements of ψ and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity.
e0 − R v (1 + e0)
e=
1 + R v (1 + e0)
Here, e0 is the void ratio of bare soil (dimensionless); Rv is the root
volume ratio (mm3/ mm3) and is species-dependent with limiting value
Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
ranged between 0 to less than (e0/(1 + e0)) . These limiting values are
corresponding to bare soil and total soil pore size, respectively.
Transpiration induced suction in engineered vegetated slopes was
influenced by the soil compaction and plant spacing (Ng et al., 2014; Ng
et al., 2016b). Root growth will be affected by high degree of com-
paction that is prerequisite of urban engineered slopes. Fig. 9a shows
that both root and shoot length (grass species) was lowest at 95% de-
gree of compaction (DOC), whereas at lower densities, growth was
relatively higher. However, based on suction response (Fig. 9a) in ve-
(9) getated soil after 1-hour duration of high intensity rainfall event, it was
observed that lower densities (70% and 80%) lose highest suction. Such
suction loss at low compaction throughout the root depth, coupled with
13
 Table 2
Chronological overview of hydraulic reinforcement in vegetated slope.
Reference Species Soil type Analysis type Hydraulic Consideration for Suction range Key conclusions and contribution#
conductivity studied (kPa)
Plant age Root Spacing
effect depth effects
profile
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng

Simon and Collison (2002) Multiple species (6) Sand Lab and numerical x x ✓ x 0–88 Root reinforcement and hydro mechanical
modelling reinforcement by tree cover increased FS by 32% and
71%
Doussan et al. (2006) Lupin Sandy clay Lab x x ✓ ✓ 0–95 Taproot architecture induced higher spatially
concentrated uptake zone
Indraratna et al. (2006) Lime tree, Eucalyptus Clay Numerical x x ✓ ✓ 1–1500 Maximum settlement occurs near point with highest
root water uptake rate
Pollen-Bankhead and Simon Multiple species (6) Silty loam Lab and numerical x x ✓ x 0–4 For riverbanks, evapotranspiration provided potential
(2010) modelling benefit to FS only during summer
Leung and Ng (2013) Dicranopteris pedata, Colluvium, coarse Field and Seepage ✓ x ✓ x 0.1–90 During dry season, peak suction induced by plant Etr
Rhodomyrtus tomentosa, ash tuff analysis was up to 200 kPa, Depth of influence < 2 times of
Baeckea frutescens root depth
Ng et al. (2014) Cynadon Dactylon (CD) Silty sand Lab ✓ x ✓ x 0–80 At 0.95 relative compaction, suction retained was
double than bare soil
Ng et al. (2013) CD Silty sand Lab x x ✓ x 0–80 Vertical suction influence zone was 4-times the root
depth
Garg and Ng (2015) Schefflera heptaphylla (SH) CDG Numerical x x ✓ x 0–830 Computed suction decreased by 21%, when coupled
effects of soil density and RAI were considered
Garg et al. (2015a) SH CDG Lab x x ✓ x 0–80 Evaporation rate reduced when LAI was higher
Garg et al. (2015b) SH CDG Lab x x ✓ x 0–80 SH with higher LAI has lower water stress tolerance
Garg et al. (2015c) CD, SH CDG Field ✓ x ✓ x 0.8–900 SH induce max. suction due to high shoot mass and

14
RAI
Leung et al. (2015a) SH Clayey sand Lab and numerical x x ✓ x 0.1–90 Contribution of root-water uptake was less compared
with root-induced change to suction
Leung et al. (2015b) CD, SH Silty sand Field ✓ x ✓ x 1–90 No significant difference (< 10%) of infiltration, ks
and suction retained for both species
Ng et al. (2015) NA CDG Analytical analysis x x ✓ x 0–90 Maximum suction was induced by parabolic root
architecture
Boldrin et al. (2016) Corylus avellana, Ilex Sandy loam Lab test x x x x 0–1500 Mean suction induced by Corylus A was 2.7 times than
Aquifolium Ilex A
Ng et al. (2016a) NA CDG Centrifuge modelling ✓ x ✓ x 0–90 FS of heart shaped roots was highest among tested root
system
Ng et al. (2016b) SH CDG Lab ✓ x ✓ ✓ 0–90 364% increase in peak suction for spacing of 60 mm as
compared to 180 mm
Ni et al. (2017) CD, SH CDG Field ✓ x ✓ ✓ 0–130 Highest matric suction preserved for the 240 mm
spacing
Leung et al. (2017) NA CDG Centrifuge modelling ✓ x ✓ x 0.1–200 Heart-shaped roots induce higher suction, leading to
14% reduction of infiltration
Li et al. (2016) Tall Fescue Low plastic clay Lab ✓ x ✓ x 10–77 Roots restrict crack formation in early stages of
drying–wetting cycles.
Liu et al. (2016) NA CDG Analytical analysis x x ✓ x 5–49 FS Exponential > FS parabolic in terms of root architecture
Shao et al. (2016) SH CDG Numerical modelling ✓ x ✓ ✓ 0–100 New dual-permeability model developed for
preferential flow in vegetated slope
Boldrin et al. (2017a) Multiple species (10) Sandy loam Lab test x x x x 0–70 LAI, RLD and the RSR have positive relation with
suction
Das et al. (2017a) CD, SH CDG Field and Modelling x x x x 0–105 Species type did not affect dependence structure of ψ
and θ.
Das et al. (2017b) CD, SH CDG Field and Probabilistic x x x x 0–600 Hydrological correlation (ψ-θ) is stronger in treed soil
Modelling than grass.
(continued on next page)
Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
 Table 2 (continued)

Reference Species Soil type Analysis type Hydraulic Consideration for Suction range Key conclusions and contribution#
conductivity studied (kPa)
Plant age Root Spacing
effect depth effects
profile
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng

Gadi et al. (2017) Pongamia pinnata, Cyperus, Sand Field ✓ ✓ x ✓ x Spatial heterogeneity in both vegetation cover and k
Poaceae was more significant during drought periods
Jotisankasa and Chrysopogon zizanioides Clayey sand, low Lab ✓ x x x 0–100 Influence of roots on permeability was less significant.
Sirirattanachat (2017) plastic silt
Leung et al. (2018) Salix viminalis tora, Silty sand Lab and numerical ✓ ✓ ✓ x 0–20 Age effect was more prominent for willow than grass
Festulolium grass species
Song et al. (2017) CD, Vetiver grass Low plastic clay In-situ and lab ✓ x ✓ x 9–32 Hydraulic conductivity (CD < Bare < Vetiver)
Boldrin et al. (2018) Corylus avellana, Ulex Sandy loam Lab test x x x x 0–70 Ulex europaeus induced higher suction up to 7 m depth
europaeus
Das et al. (2018) CD, SH CDG Field and Probabilistic x x x x 0–900 Probabilistic model developed for univariate ψ, under
Modelling varying non-linear c − ϕ correlation
Feng et al. (2019) CD, SH Sand Analytical ✓ x ✓ x 0–90 CN, RN and WR govern unsaturated seepage
Gadi et al. (2018) SH CDG Numerical ✓ x ✓ x 0–1500 EDZ depth decreased with increase in LAI
Guo et al. (2018) CD CDG Field ✓ x ✓ x 0–45 CD was effective in minimizing percolation
Liu et al. (2018) SH CDG, Silt Analytical analysis ✓ x ✓ x 0–40 Root water induced suction increased with a
desaturation coefficient
Ni et al. (2018a) NA CDG Numerical modelling ✓ x ✓ x 0.1–100 Tree root-water uptake induced suction in a mixed
species did not increase further when LAI exceeds 5
Ni et al. (2018b) SH CDG Numerical modelling ✓ x ✓ x 0.1–100 Hydrological reinforcement benefits was seen for
twice the depth of only mechanical reinforcement.
Singh et al. (2018) CD, SH CDG Numerical and ✓ x x x 0–600 Permeability was high in treed than grassed cover,
probabilistic since tree induced higher suction

15
modelling
Świtała et al. (2017) Avena sativa Silty sand Constitutive x x x x 0–90 New coupled hydro-mechanical model for vegetated
modelling and lab soil was validated
Zhu et al. (2018) NA CDG Numerical modelling x x ✓ x 20–100 Exponential and triangular root architecture enhance
soil suctions more than the uniform and parabolic
Gadi et al. (2019) Axonopus Compressus, CD Silty loam Lab x x x x 0–2500 SC indicates plant wilting point
Garg et al. (2019) SH CDG Probabilistic ✓ ✓ x x 1–1500 Probability of wilting for CD was lower than SH
modelling
Ng et al. (2019d) SH CDG Lab x x ✓ x 0–90 Plant water uptake intensity positively correlated with
root length density
Ng et al. (2019c) CD, SH CDG Field and numerical ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 0–120 Plant spacing effects was predominant only up to
9 months
Ni et al. (2019a) CD, SH, Schefflera arboricola CDG Theoretical, Lab and ✓ x x x 0.7–100 Void ratio-based model could capture effects of root
field growth and root decay on soil hydraulic properties

#
Capillary effect number (CN), root water uptake number (RN), water transfer-storage ratio (WR), Stomatal conductance (SC), Depth of evaporation dominant zone (EDZ), Evapotranspiration (Etr).
Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng
Fig. 9. Effect of (a) degree of compaction (Ng et al., 2013; Bordoloi et al., 2018) and (b) plant spacing (Ng et al., 2016b) on vegetation growth and induced root zone
suction.
resultant increase on rainfall infiltration (refer Eq. (8)) can potentially
result in shallow slope failure. High soil compaction state limits easy
growth of grass but showcases lower drop of suction as compared to
bare soil in shallow depths, with no change in suction at deeper profiles.
Ng et al. (2016b) investigated the effect of plant spacing on suction
induced in highly compacted soil (90% DOC) in controlled laboratory
conditions (Fig. 9b). The non-linear and parabolic RAI for the species
(Schefflera heptaphylla) indicated that root growth was conducive for
highest spacing (180 mm) with lowest root decay. On the contrary, the
roots of plants with lowest spacing (60 mm) were shorter, more loca-
lized and exhibited root decaying. The effect of plant spacing was
evident for suction profiles, wherein lowest spacing resulted in highest
induced suction at all depths. Tree saplings placed at lower spacing
experience higher suction as there is high competition for water from
the neighboring roots. Similar trends were observed for the same tree
species in field tests wherein spacing of 120, 180 and 240 mm were
considered (Ni et al., 2019b). In this study, in-situ hydraulic con-
ductivity rates gradually decreased by one order as plant spacing in-
creased. This maybe plausible due to soil pore blockage by roots and
mucilage secretion (Bengough, 2012). However, for non-compacted
soil, presence of tree roots apparently increases rainwater infiltration
due to preferential flow along the roots as reported from dye-tracer
experiments (Mitchell et al., 1995; Johnson and Lehmann, 2006; Luo
et al., 2019).
Table 2 summarizes work done on the hydrological reinforcing ef-
fects of vegetation incorporating both laboratory, field and numerical
investigation. The brief and specific outcome of each individual study
was incorporated in the remarks section of the table. Most of the ta-
bulated studies incorporate depth profile to investigate the hydraulic
response of rooted soil. However, detailed response of plant spacing
effects on hydraulic properties was only considered in the recent past
(Ng et al., 2016b; Ni et al., 2017;Shao et al., 2017; Gadi et al., 2017; Ng
et al., 2019a,c). The effect of plant age on hydraulic properties of
16
Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
vegetated soil has been majorly neglected in literature. Plant metabo-
lism (especially for trees) changes with growth stage (initial growth,
vegetative and mature) (Unterscheutz et al., 1974; Aslam et al., 1977)
and thus, there is high probability of induced suction being dependent
on plant age. Studies on vegetated soil with monitored suction have
recently considered plant age effects on SWRC (Leung et al., 2018). The
monitoring has been done at maximum for 8 weeks in case of labora-
tory tests (Leung et al., 2018; Ni et al., 2020) and 13 months in case of
field tests (Ng et al., 2019b).
The usage of centrifuge modelling to replicate the hydrological ef-
fects of vegetation on slope stability was explored in the past decade.
Artificial roots usage in geotechnical centrifuge test specimen was first
developed (Ng et al., 2014; Ng and Yu, 2014) for modelling both plant
hydrological and mechanical effects. The artificial roots consisting of a
porous filter (in contact with soil) with high air entry value were con-
nected to a vacuum system to simulate artificial negative pore water
pressure. Transpiration was simulated at filter tip as water within soil
seeps into the artificial root upon lowering of total water head by at-
tached vacuum system. The axial rigidity of the artificial roots was
maintained by using suitable material for filter. This was done such that
mechanical reinforcement provided by actual roots was additionally
mimicked during centrifuge tests. Kamchoom et al. (2014) and Ng et al.
(2016a,b,c) investigated three artificial root models based on root
geometries (tap-shaped, heart shaped and plate shaped root) in cen-
trifuge. Tap and heart shaped roots were identified to be better at re-
sisting pull-out stress as compared to plate shaped root. Ng et al.
(2016a) found that slope supported by heart-shaped roots retained
highest suction after rainfall events and provided higher Fs as compared
to other tested root geometries.
Numerical, analytical, and constitutive modelling of compacted
vegetated soil for engineered slope stability applications were explored
in the past decades. Riverbank slope stability for vegetated soil was
investigated by considering both mechanical and hydraulic
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng
reinforcement together using the limit equilibrium and Mohr-column
failure approach (Simon and Collison, 2002). Indraratna et al. (2006)
proposed a mathematical model to represent root water uptake by as-
suming that tree root zone geometry was conical in nature. Based on the
assumption, numerical analysis by finite element method was used to
predict root water uptake, pore water pressure distribution and soil
deformation along tree vicinity. Numerical models considering only
hydrological reinforcements were developed in recent past (Garg and
Ng, 2015; Leung et al., 2015a; Singh et al., 2018, Zhu et al., 2018).
Analytical solutions of water flow, SWRC and pore water pressure
profiles considering hydrological reinforcement provided by con-
trasting root architecture were also validated in recent times (Ng et al.,
2015; Liu et al., 2016; Liu et al., 2018; Feng et al., 2020). The modelling
approaches used in compacted vegetated slope stability were provided
in Table 2. The “modified Richard’s equation” which obeys mass con-
servation principle and Darcy's law was majorly used in these studies to
model root-water uptake by incorporating a sink term (S(z)). The
modified partial differential equation with time-dependency was pre-
sented as Eq. (10).
∂θ ⎛ ∂h ⎞ ∂θ ⎛ ∂h ⎞ ∂θ
k + k = − S (z )
∂x ⎝ ∂x ⎠ ∂z ⎝ ∂z ⎠ ∂t (10)
where k represents co-efficient of hydraulic conductivity at a given
matric suction, h represents hydraulic head, (x, z) are Cartesian co-or-
dinates in horizontal and vertical directions, t represents time elapsed
and θ is the volumetric water content. Recently, constitutive models
were developed that incorporate both hydrological and mechanical
effects of plants (Świtała et al., 2018; Świtała and Wu, 2018). However,
the developed models could not account for the complex root archi-
tectures and temporal changes induced by root growth.
3.3. Interception
The interception function of vegetation for slope stability can be
majorly discussed in terms of erosion resistance and debris or rock fall
interception. Vegetation intercepts erosion through three ways: (i)
provides protection to the soil particles against raindrop impact
(Herwitz, 1987); (ii) attenuates runoff volume through increased sur-
face infiltration through roots, i.e. preferential flow (Blanco and Lal,
2008); and (iii) reduces sediment transportation by entrapment (Burylo
et al., 2012). Vannoppen et al. (2015) conducted a meta-analysis review
of the mechanical effects of roots on concentrated flow erosion. Based
on their study, a schematic illustration comparing the erosion-reducing
potential of roots and canopy cover is shown in Fig. 10a. It can be in-
ferred that plant roots have higher potential against rill and gully
erosion, whereas canopy growth was more effective in mitigating splash
and inter-rill erosion (Gyssels et al., 2005; Zuazo and Pleguezuelo,
2009). Soil loss due to erosion (A) in hillslope, was generally estimated
using the predictive Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) as
per Eq. (11) (IECA, 2008).
A= R. K. LS. C. P (11)
where R represents rainfall erosivity factor, K represents soil erodibility
factor; LS is a topographic factor derived from slope length and gra-
dient; C is the vegetative cover and management factor; and P is erosion
control practice factor. The general methodology adopted to under-
stand the erosion hazard of a vegetated hill slope is shown in Fig. 10b.
The erosion rate in soil is generally expressed as given in Eq. (12).
i = K e coeff (τ − τc coeff ) (12)
where i = erosion rate (m/s), K e is the erodibility co-efficient (m3/
coeff
N-s), τ = shear stress at air–water interface (kPa), and τc coeff = critical
erosive shear stress at initiation of soil erosion (kPa). The smaller the
magnitude of K e coeff and larger the τc , higher will be the erosion re-
sistance. Zhu and Zhang (2016) investigated the effects of grass roots on
surficial erosion, using the vegetation parameter- root mass density
17
Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
(RMD in kg/m3) which is defined as the ratio of dry mass of roots to
total dry mass of soil considered. Fig. 11a presents the possible ranges
of normalized values of τc coeff and K e coeff with RMD based on field
measurements in vegetated soil. τc coeff was seen to increase linearly with
higher RMD regardless of the species. However, the rate of increase
depends on the species considered for individual studies. Along the
same lines, K e decreases logarithmically with higher RMD, thus redu-
cing surficial erosion. Shen et al. (2017) conducted parametric study to
evaluate the effect of variable vegetation cover on various sites within
Xiaojiagou Ravine (Sichuan province, China), where extreme erosion
and debris flow had taken place after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.
Based on forensic tests and numerical modelling, including in-situ
sampling and satellite imagery to gauge vegetation growth for a two-
year period, the relative area susceptible to erosion was modelled.
Based on the simulation results, the relationship of relative erosion area
(i.e. the ratio of the erosion area at τc coeff to the erosion area at
(τc coeff = 1) ) and the variable τc coeff of vegetated soil was presented
(Fig. 11b). After τc coeff reaches beyond 2, surface erosion was almost
diminished by the erosion resistance provided by the fibrous roots.
Deciduous trees were reported to have physical effects on the dy-
namics of low volume debris flow triggered after heavy rainfall. The
physical effects namely are (i) kinetic energy absorption through direct
impact of boulder with tree trunk (Stokes et al., 2005; Lundström et al.,
2009); and (ii) energy dissipation of debris flow by coppice structures
(Ciabocco et al., 2009). Winching tests were conducted upon trees on
actual slopes to gauge the energy that trees can absorb before failure
(Dorren and Berger, 2006; Peterson and Claassen, 2012). Based on
winching tests, it was found that the energy that a tree can absorb
before toppling (Ecap) or uproot failure increased exponentially with
trunk or stem diameter, regardless of the species (Fig. 11b). Jonsson
(2007) developed a numerical model which can be used to measure Ecap
of a single tree during debris flow. The numerical model was based on a
series of full-scale impact tests on Picea abies using high-speed cameras
and accelerometers. This developed numerical single tree model was
validated for higher energy levels based on full-scale rock fall experi-
ments conducted on Abies alba plantation (Stokes et al., 2005). Based on
the simulated full-scale test data, it was revealed that tree stem ab-
sorbed 2/3rd of the energy, while rest was dissipated into the root
system. However, it should be noted that the relationship is variable
with impact velocity and shape of the projectile. Mature trees have been
used as anchor elements to flexible barriers for protection against debris
flow (Bourrier et al., 2015). Radtke et al. (2014) compared 40 coppice
plantation on two sloped forest sites to study its protective effect
against rockfall using the simulation model Rocky for 3D. Based on
simulations, it was observed that random stem distribution in coppice
plantations provided better protective effect than the clumped stem
distribution. Stoffel and Wilford (2012) show that tree-rock fall inter-
action leads to change in annual ring pattern and width of willow
species, which can be used to trace debris flow intervals, especially for
forensic studies. For instance, Stoffel et al. (2005, 2008)) used the intra-
seasonal position of debris-flow damage in willows, local meteor-
ological data to reconstruct 400 years of debris flow history at Riti-
graben terrain, Swiss Alps.
4. Present gap areas for future research
The future gap areas emanating from the discussion in the previous
sections are detailed below in four categories. These include suscept-
ibility to failure considering extreme climate scenarios; plantation
strategy; vegetation maintenance and real time monitoring; and nature-
based alteration to root properties.
4.1. Extreme climate scenarios
Slope stability on vegetated slopes have been extensively studied for
high precipitation (including 100-year return period) events in the past
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742

Fig. 10. (a) Idealized role of canopy and root area ratio on resistance against soil erosion considering different erosion patterns (Vannoppen et al., 2015); (b)
Schematic representation to assess erosion potential of vegetated hillslope through RUSLE approach.

Fig. 11. (a) Possible ranges of τccoeff and K ecoeff with root mass density, (b) Simulated relationship between relative erosion area and τccoeff for a site near the epicenter of
2008 Wenchuan earthquake based on variable vegetation cover (after Shen et al., 2017), (c) relation between energy adsorbed before failure and stem diameter of
tree (after Stokes et al., 2005;).

18
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng
decade considering climate change effects (Ng et al., 2019a). Climate
change has also increased the frequency of droughts leading to tree
mortality, forest fires, freeze–thaw cycles. Atmospheric CO2 emission is
also increasing exponentially and projected to reach 700–1000 ppm by
2100 due to climate change (Keeling and Whorf, 2005; IPCC, 2013).
Extended droughts coupled with a drop in ground water table will make
vegetation in slopes more susceptible to wilting and mortality. Plant
wilting will lead to termination of the hydrological reinforcement ac-
tion and gradually decrease mechanical reinforcement through de-
caying roots. A decayed root network following wilting will lead to
multiple regions of concentrated pore water pressure within the slope,
which increases the probability of slope failure upon subsequent rain-
fall. The past year witnessed an outbreak of extreme forest fires like the
2019 California fire (Williams et al., 2019), the 2019 Amazon fires
(Fonseca et al., 2019), and the 2019–2020 Australian fire (Nolan et al.,
2020). Post-fire debris flow has been extensively reported in literature
(Jakob et al., 2005). The root zone is essentially turned into a hydro-
phobic layer with decayed or degraded root network which essentially
form a “cocktail” of causal agents triggering shallow landslides and
debris flow (Doerr et al., 2009). Few case studies exist that measure
change in material properties post-fire and its implication on debris
flow (Kean et al., 2011; De Graff, 2014). Building upon those pre-
liminary literature, the mechanisms that induce post fire landslide need
to be investigated in future. Centrifuge modelling of prototype slopes
with a hydrophobic topsoil layer up to the root depth along with dif-
ferent slope geometry, rainfall intensities, root architecture and soil
type could unravel failure and trigger mechanisms related to post fire
landslides. A transition from perennially frozen to seasonally frozen soil
and vice versa due to climate change will accelerate the effect of free-
ze–thaw processes on vegetated slopes (Patton et al., 2019). Till date,
the effect of freeze–thaw cycles on slope stability due to the changes in
hydraulic (Konrad and Samson, 2000) and physical properties (Qi et al.,
2006; Yamamoto and Springman, 2019) of soil have been discussed
with only bare soil mechanics. These cycles increase the degree of
fracturing, pore water pressure and hydraulic conductivity; while re-
ducing the physical properties such as apparent cohesion and friction
angle (Guo et al., 2014). Change in rainfall patterns and rapid snow/ice
melting are likely to increase the frequency and magnitude of landslides
based on field observations (Patton et al., 2019). Particularly hillslopes
which experience post-disturbance change in vegetation cover due to
forest fire are susceptible to catastrophic failure. Recently, Archer and
Ng (2017) developed a geotechnical centrifuge setup that could simu-
late freeze–thaw cycles. The usage of such setup in simulating slope
failure incorporating varied root analogues, artificial cracks, hydro-
phobic soil cover and precipitation patterns could reveal new findings
and failure mechanisms associated with post-fire and frozen soil con-
ditions. Rise in CO2 concentrations is generally estimated to increase
plant biomass (Keenan et al., 2013; Reef et al., 2016), which should
facilitate higher mechanical and hydrological reinforcement in vege-
tated slopes (Ng et al., 2018; Ng et al., 2019e). However, increase in
plant water uptake to satiate the higher biomass will lead to lowering
down of ground water table, increase susceptibility to wilting and ne-
cessitate higher irrigation supply. Thus, the change in plant water up-
take efficiency, expected change in biomass, transpiration induced
suction and irrigation requirement for different species need to be as-
certained at higher CO2 concentrations.
4.2. Plantation strategy
Species type and plant spacing selected for constructing bio-en-
gineered slopes such as road embankment slope, hill slope, landfill
slope and mining slope need to be different based on the infrastructure
(Fig. 1). In case of embankment slopes wherein erosion protection and
strength are of paramount interest, species selection should be based on
fibrous root system, high LAI and greater cellulose-hemicellulose con-
tent. In case of steep hill slope, vegetation planning ideally should
19
Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
include plants with fibrous roots and trees with greater root depth for
anchorage. Canopy area should also be high for minimizing erosion. In
hill slopes which are vulnerable to debris flow, random stem distribu-
tion in coppice plantations will provide better protective functions than
the clumped stem distribution (refer Section 3.3). For landfill slopes,
species selection should be based on shallow root morphology (against
barrier intrusion), high transpiration and drought resistance (no natural
water resource). Plant spacing also affects transpiration induced suc-
tion, root decaying, desiccation cracks and spatial variation in hy-
draulic conductivity due to canopy distribution (Indraratna et al., 2006;
Genet et al., 2008; Ni et al., 2019b; Gadi et al., 2019). These con-
siderations should be studied and accounted for, while designing bio-
engineered slopes based on application. Wind induced tree uprooting
can be modelled based on computational fluid dynamics (Gan and
Salim, 2014). Tree uprooting, especially root uprooting can lead to
progressive slope failure during a cyclone as seen for 2018-Typhoon
Mangkhut (Sassa, 2019). Usage of geotechnical centrifuge with a si-
mulated wind setup could potentially reveal failure mechanisms with
different slope geometry, tree location and height. The use of capillary
barrier in embankment slopes and mining slopes with herbaceous
species can be explored as they can retain water in the root zone and
minimize water percolation to deeper layers. The use of capillary bar-
rier has been reported (Ityel et al., 2014) to increase dissolved oxygen
concentration in the root zone and improved biomass by 5% and 18%,
respectively.
4.3. Vegetation maintenance and real time monitoring
From an engineering perspective, a lot of existing knowledge por-
tray the beneficial effects of vegetation on slope stability and protection
measures. Most of urban engineered slopes such as road embankment
and landfill, do not have a natural source of water and are dependent on
rainfall events or regular irrigation. Climate change has resulted in
periods of extended droughts wherein plants are susceptible to wilting
and may result in tree mortality. The recent case studies of extended
droughts and tree mortality in previously lush regions were reflected in
the recent Zimbabwe drought (Frischen et al., 2020), El Nino drought in
South Africa (Baudoin et al., 2017) and the 2013–2019 Australian
drought (Gallant et al., 2019). Over irrigation to maintain bio-en-
gineered slopes is also not cost-effective wherein water is not a readily
available resource. In the past, irrigation scheduling in urban spaces
have been basically developed based on soil moisture status, neglecting
plant health status. One of the key parameters that governs irrigation
schemes and vegetation survival is the permanent wilting point (PWP).
In the past decades, soil science practitioners, agriculturists and ecol-
ogists have determined PWP from the SWRC of vegetated soil (Garg
et al., 2017) as the water content corresponding to a soil matric po-
tential of 4.2 pF (i.e., 1500 kPa). The approach of determining PWP at
1500 kPa as an invariant index representing the lower limit of plant
water availability may be misleading (Philip, 1957; Raats et al., 2002).
Kirkham (2014) has criticized that this overestimates the water avail-
ability for plants in case of fine-textured (clay) soils where sufficient
bound water may be present, which cannot be extracted by plant roots.
On the contrary, for coarse-textured soils, the soil reaches residual
water content (2–3%) even at (200–500) kPa (Dekker et al., 2001).
Hence, the consideration of PWP at 1500 kPa in coarse grained soils is
dubious. Research is needed to quantify the actual PWP of a plant
species based on soil type and CO2 concentrations, which will help
practitioners to optimize irrigation needs. Recently, Boldrin et al.
(2019) were able to apply thermal imaging technique to evaluate
plants’ ability to induce suction through transpiration (hydrological
reinforcement). Gadi et al. (2019) were able to segregate plant canopy
based on color to co-relate plant stomatal conductance which is an
essential indicator of plant wilting. Similar smart monitoring techni-
ques can be used wherein plants act as “live sensors”. Based on imaging
techniques of plant traits such as canopy temperature and leaf color,
S. Bordoloi and C.W.W. Ng
real-time models can be developed to indirectly measure plant health
parameters and soil suction for predicting tree mortality. The usage of
unmanned aerial vehicles can help monitor remote vegetated slopes
susceptible to slope failure. The usage of machine learning technique to
identify and predict landslide occurrence in slopes has gained traction
recently (Wang et al., 2020). Adopting the spatial and temporal effects
of vegetation cover can make these models more robust, as they directly
affect the suction profile of slopes.
4.4. Nature based alteration to improve root growth and root cohesion
The usage of synthetic materials such as fibers, geotextiles and geo-
grids in vegetated soil have been in practice (Cazzuffi et al., 2014).
However, they are non-biodegradable, do not facilitate nutrient reten-
tion, are aesthetically unpleasant and possess threat to local biota.
Nature based amendment material and organisms which do not hamper
the biota, rather, help in vegetation growth especially during early
plant establishment period can be incorporated in bio-engineered
slopes. The use of natural fibers has been shown to decrease cracks as
well as retain higher moisture for high biomass growth (Kurugodu
et al., 2018). Biochar, another bio-amendment, can be explored in slope
stability as it restricts volume expansion, desiccation cracks, increases
plant available water content, facilitates nutrition and has higher ve-
getation yield (Atkinson et al., 2010). Natural biopolymers such as
Xantham gum have been explored to increase shear strength of coarse-
grained soil (Chen and Harbottle, 2019; Chen et al., 2019a,b) and can
be extended for usage in rooted soil. Recently, the prospect of using
microbial induced calcite precipitation (MICP) was explored for re-
sisting cracks in expansive soil (Liu et al., 2019). The use of mycorrhiza
fungi and symbiosis of certain root species results in increase in root
tensile strength, thus enhancing the mechanical reinforcement (Zhang
et al., 2016; Chen et al., 2018). The use of mycorrhiza (ectomycorrhiza)
in the rhizosphere usually enhances root branching density, root yield
and increase RLD (Cui and Caldwell, 1996; Hodge et al., 2000; Stokes
et al., 2009). Plants can access a larger surface area of nutrient and
phosphate rich soil via the mycelial network of the mycorrhiza
(Lambers et al., 2008). The use of genetically modified plants for in-
creasing resistance against drought and salinity have been extensively
used in the field of agriculture (Wang et al., 2003). Genetically mod-
ified herbaceous and non-crop species could be used to stabilize mining
slopes such as fly ash deposits, tailing dams and salt mines; wherein
natural water source is absent and presents conditions of high alkalinity
and salinity.
5. Concluding remarks
The current review encompasses theoretical understanding, la-
boratory experiments, prototype modelling, field observations and
long-term monitoring studies relating to soil–plant-water atmosphere
interaction. In literature, the mechanical reinforcement provided by
roots have been extensively studied and understood from the perspec-
tive of geotechnical engineering (Table 1). Even though root branching
(forking), root bio-polymer concentration, vegetation spacing and rhi-
zosheath biota greatly affect the adhesive forces between soil and root,
majority of the studies consider singularly the root tensile strength as a
direct measure of apparent root cohesion in sloped soil. The hydro-
logical reinforcement effects provided by plants have gained grounds in
the past decade based on recent advancements in physical and geo-
technical centrifuge modelling (Table 2). The past decade has seen the
usage of conventional lab experiments to quantify transpiration in-
duced suction and its relationship with vegetation traits. It is to be
mentioned that most of these studies include young trees and limited
grass species. Future studies need to account the temporal effects of
vegetation growth and consequent hydrological reinforcement pro-
vided in slopes. Studies on spacing effect of vegetation and age effect on
hydrological benefits are still at a nascent stage, with only a couple of
20
Engineering Geology 275 (2020) 105742
studies on young trees. The suction range considered for majority of the
studies on hydrological reinforcements range from 1 to 90 kPa, which is
representative of scenarios relating to rainfall induced landslides and
optimal plant growth (refer Fig. 3b). Vegetation possess a “love-hate
relationship” towards slope stability as it gradually reaches higher
suction range near residual water content or wilting point. Of course, it
imparts higher matric suction resulting in low water infiltration and
inducing additional shear strength (refer Section 3.2). However, it also
makes the slope vulnerable to future catastrophic failure due to ex-
acerbated desiccation cracks and root decay upon wilting. To mitigate
such adverse events, plantation strategy and real time monitoring of
vegetated slopes is important, especially in the early-plant establish-
ment period. The end of early-plant establishment period also includes
smooth functioning of the microbial diversity, ecological restoration
and maintenance of reinforcement functions. Thus, natural amend-
ments that promote microbial diversity and do not harm native flora-
fauna need to be taken under consideration.
The review points out gap areas which require urgent study due to
extreme climate scenarios. Bio-engineered slopes are now exposed to
frequent and extreme scenarios of prolonged droughts, forest fires and
high atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Such extreme cases can be stu-
died in laboratory by building prototype slopes in geotechnical cen-
trifuge. Accounting for extreme droughts and maintenance of vegetated
slopes, key hydrological terms related to plants i.e. threshold suction
(where plants feel drought stress), tipping point suction (beyond which
plants cannot survive) and permanent wilting point (where plant dies)
need to be revisited. All these terms in the field of geotechnical en-
gineering are arbitrarily established based on soil status, rather than
accounting plant hydraulic pathway (refer Fig. 3b). These terms should
be plant specific and the knowledge can help in optimal irrigation and
maintenance of bio-engineered slopes, especially where water resources
are scarce and limited. Smart and real time monitoring of vegetated
infrastructure could be explored using thermal imaging, machine
learning tools and unmanned aerial vehicles. Use of nature-based al-
teration as well as suitable plantation schemes, keeping in mind the
infrastructural needs would make it easier to build futuristic and sus-
tainable bio-engineered slopes.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influ-
ence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Environment Conservation Fund
(ECWW19EG01) provided by the Government of Hong Kong SAR,
China and the Research Grant No. AoE/E-603/18 awarded by the Areas
of Excellence (AoE) Scheme of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council
of the Government of Hong Kong SAR, China.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2020.105742.
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