Root characteristics of different types of herbaceous plants.

Root characteristics of different types of herbaceous plants.</p

Distribution of root length at different diameter classes for three herbaceous.

Distribution of root length at different diameter classes for three herbaceous.</p

Axial line shrinkage of soil under different plant treatments.

Axial line shrinkage of soil under different plant treatments.</p

Microscopic morphology of soil under different treatments at 200 μm scale.

(a is for Control treatment; b is for Cynodon dactylon; c is for Medicago; d is for Lolium perenne).</p

Soil moisture characteristics curve under different plant treatments.

(a is for Medicago; b is for Cynodon dactylon; c is for Lolium perenne; d is for Control treatment).</p

The number of root tips, root forks and root crosses of different plants.

The number of root tips, root forks and root crosses of different plants.</p

Transient swelling rate of soil under different plant treatments.

Transient swelling rate of soil under different plant treatments.</p

Correlation analysis between root diameter class and soil linear shrinkage and swelling rate under Cynodon dactylon treatment.

P: swelling rate of soil; X1, X2, X3: the line shrinkage of the minimum, maximum and inflection points of suction; G1, G2, G3, G4, G5, G6: respectively denote the root lengths of 0</p

S1 Data -

In order to investigate the impact of herbaceous root development on soil slope stability in expansive soil areas, the research was conducted in the soil slope experimental area of Yaoshi Town, Shangzhou District, Shangluo City. Three types of herbaceous plants, namely Lolium perenne, Medicago, and Cynodon dactylon, were planted to examine their influence on slope stability. The results indicated that Lolium perenne had significantly higher root length density and root surface area density compared to Cynodon dactylon and Medicago. However, the root weight density of Cynodon dactylon was found to be highest. The roots of Lolium perenne, Cynodon dactylon, and Medicago were predominantly observed in diameter ranges of 0 </div

Content of clay, silt and sand particles in the soil under different treatments.

Content of clay, silt and sand particles in the soil under different treatments.</p