How do root and soil characteristics affect the erosion-reducing potential of plant species?

Plant roots can be very effective in stabilizing the soil against concentrated flow erosion. So far, most research on the erosion-reducing potential of plant roots was conducted on loamy soils. However susceptible to incisive erosion processes, at present, no research exists on the effectiveness of plant roots in reducing concentrated flow erosion rates in sandy soils. Therefore, the prime objective of this study was to assess the erosion-reducing potential of both fibrous and tap roots in sandy soils. Furthermore, we investigated potential effects of root diameter, soil texture and dry soil bulk density on the erosion-reducing potential of plant roots. Therefore, flume experiments conducted on sandy soils (this study) were compared with those on sandy loam and silt loam soils (using the same experimental set up). Results showed that plant roots were very efficient in reducing concentrated flow erosion rates in sandy soils compared to root-free bare soils. Furthermore, our results confirmed that fibrous roots were more effective compared to (thick) tap roots. Dry soil bulk density and soil texture also played a significant role. As they were both related to soil cohesion, the results of this study suggested that the effectiveness of plant roots in controlling concentrated flow erosion rates depended on the apparent soil cohesion. The nature of this soil type effect depended on the root-system type: fine root systems were most effective in non-cohesive soils while tap root systems were most effective in cohesive soils. For soils permeated with a given amount of fibrous roots, an increase of soil bulk density seemed to hamper the effectiveness of roots to further increase soil cohesion and reduce erosion rates. In soils reinforced by tap root systems, the erosion-reducing power of the roots depended on sand content: the higher the percentage of sand, the smaller the erosion-reducing effect for a given amount of roots. This was attributed to more pronounced vortex erosion around the thicker tap roots in non-cohesive soils, increasing soil erosion rates. The results presented in this study could support practitioners to assess the likely erosion-reducing effects of plant root systems based on both root and soil characteristics

A review of the mechanical effects of plant roots on concentrated flow erosion rates

Living plant roots modify both mechanical and hydrological characteristics of the soil matrix (e.g. soil aggregate stability by root exudates, soil cohesion, infiltration rate, soil moisture content, soil organic matter) and negatively influence the soil erodibility. During the last two decades several studies reported on the effects of plant roots in controlling concentrated flow erosion rates. However a global analysis of the now available data on root effects is still lacking. Yet, a meta-data analysis will contribute to a better understanding of the soil-root interactions as our capability to assess the effectiveness of roots in reducing soil erosion rates due to concentrated flow in different environments remains difficult. The objectives of this study are therefore: i) to provide a state of the art on studies quantifying the effectiveness of roots in reducing soil erosion rates due to concentrated flow; and ii) to explore the overall trends in erosion reduction as a function of the root (length) density, root architecture and soil texture, based on an integrated analysis of published data. We therefore compiled a dataset of measured soil detachment ratios (SDR) for the root density (RD; 822 observations) as well as for the root length density (RLD; 274 observations). A Hill curve model best describes the decrease in SDR as a function of R(L)D. An important finding of our meta-analysis is that RLD is a much more suitable variable to estimate SDR compared to RD as it is linked to root architecture. However, a large proportion of the variability in SDR could not be attributed to RD or RLD, resulting in a low predictive accuracy of these Hill curve models with a model efficiency of 0.11 and 0.17 for RD and RLD respectively. Considering root architecture and soil texture did yield a better predictive model for RLD with a model efficiency of 0.37 for fibrous roots in non-sandy soils while no improvement was found for RD. The unexplained variance is attributed to differences in experimental set-ups and measuring errors which could not be explicitly accounted for due to a lack of additional data. Based on those results, it remains difficult to predict the effects of roots on soil erosion rates. However, by using a Monte Carlo simulation approach, we were able to establish relationships that allow assessing the likely erosion-reducing effects of plant roots, while taking these uncertainties into account. Overall, this study demonstrates that plant roots can be very effective in reducing soil erosion rates due to concentrated flow. © 2015 Elsevier B.V

Gully prevention and control: Techniques, failures and effectiveness

International audienceGully erosion is a major environmental problem, posing significant threats to sustainable development. However, insights on techniques to prevent and control gullying are scattered and incomplete, especially regarding failure rates and effectiveness. This review aims to address these issues and contribute to more successful gully prevention and control strategies by synthesizing the data from earlier studies. Preventing gully formation can be done through land use change, applying soil and water conservation techniques or by targeted measures in concentrated flow zones. The latter include measures that increase topsoil resistance and vegetation barriers. Vegetation barriers made of plant residues have the advantage of being immediately effective in protecting against erosion, but have a short life expectancy as compared to barriers made of living vegetation. Once deeply incised, the development of gullies may be controlled by diverting runoff away from the channel, but this comes at the risk of relocating the problem. Additional measures such as headcut filling, channel reshaping and headcut armouring can also be applied. To control gully channels, multiple studies report on the use of check dams and/or vegetation. Reasons for failures of these techniques depend on runoff and sediment characteristics and cross-sectional stability and micro-environment of the gully. In turn, these are controlled by external forcing factors that can be grouped into (i) geomorphology and topography, (ii) climate and (iii) the bio-physical environment. The impact of gully prevention and control techniques is addressed, especially regarding their effect on headcut retreat and network development, the trapping of sediment by check dams and reduction of catchment sediment yield. Overall, vegetation establishment in gully channels and catchments plays a key role in gully prevention and control. Once stabilized, gullies may turn into rehabilitated sites of lush vegetation or cropland, making the return on investment to prevent and control gullies high