Mechanical properties of plant species of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano Geopark flora relevant for slope stability

Teodoro Di Tommaso (a), Enrica De Falco (b) & Mariana Amato (a)
(a) School of Agriculture, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, via dell'Ateneo Lucano, 85100 Potenza, Italy. E-mail: teoditommaso@hotmail.it (b) Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Science, University of Salerno, Fisciano Campus, 84100 Fisciano (SA), Italy.

Plants affects soil stability improving soil shear strength and stabilizing slopes. Thus, they can be considered like true ecological engineering tools. Many models exist which try to describe soil reinforcement by roots and all of them refer to mechanical root characteristics. Among them, the most important seems to be root strength (Tr), calculated as MPa, that is the maximum stress a root can bear without breaking in a traction test. That parameter, together with root density, can be used to describe the contribution of plant root systems to slope stability. This paper reports root mechanical characteristics of some plants found in the Cilento and Vallo di Diano Geopark. The highest values of root strength were recorded for grass roots (esp. Poa spp.) and, in general, data show a negative relation between root diameter and strength.

Root mechanical parameters, root resistance, root strength, slope stability