Eco- And Ground Bio-engineering: The Use Of Vegetation To Improve Slope Stability: Proceedings Of The First International Conference On Eco-engineering ... (developments In Plant And Soil Sciences)

ECO- AND GROUND BIO-ENGINEERING: THE USE OF VEGETATION TO IMPROVE SLOPE STABILITY Eco- and Ground Bio-Engineering: The Use of Vegetation to Improve Slope Stability Proceedings of the First International Conference on Eco-Engineering 13–17 September 2004 Edited by ALEXIA STOKES IOANNIS SPANOS JOANNE E. NORRIS and ERIK CAMMERAAT A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN-10 1-4020-5592-7 ISBN-13 978-1-4020-5592-8 ISBN-10 1-4020-5593-5 ISBN-13 978-1-4020-5593-5 Published by Springer, P.O. Box 17,3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands. www.springer.com Cover photo: The Finite Element Method was used to calculate the strength of tree root anchorage, with a digitized Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) root system shown here as an example (data from F. Danjon, INRA). This numerical method was not only used on real root systems, but also applied to simulated schematic root patters. These theoretical investigations provided information concerning various aspects of tree anchorage mechanics, with regard to both root morphology and soil characteristics. It was shown for instance that the soil type significantly modifies the mode of failure of the root/soil plate. It was also demonstrated that, for a given total root biomass, heart-root systems are the most resistant pattern in clay-like soil and tap-root anchorage efficiency is higher in sandy-like soil. Printed on acid-free paper All rights reserved.  C 2007 Springer No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Contents Preface.............................................................................................................................. ix Mechanisms and modelling of root reinforcement on slopes The influence of cellulose content on tensile strength in tree roots..................................................... Marie Genet, Alexia Stokes, Franck Salin, Slobodan B. Mickovski, Thierry Fourcaud, Jean-Fran¸cois Dumail & Rens van Beek 3 Novel biomechanical analysis of plant roots................................................................................ O. Hamza, A.G. Bengough, M.F. Bransby, M.C.R. Davies, C. Halpin & P.D. Hallett 13 Root reinforcement: analyses and experiments............................................................................. Tien H. Wu 21 Root strength and root area ratio of forest species in Lombardy (Northern Italy) ................................... Gian Battista Bischetti, Enrico A. Chiaradia, Tommaso Simonato, Barbara Speziali, Barbara Vitali, Paolo Vullo & Antonio Zocco 31 Biotechnical characteristics of root systems of typical Mediterranean species....................................... Chiara Mattia, Gian Battista Bischetti & Francesco Gentile 43 Uprooting of vetiver uprooting resistance of vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides) .................................. S.B. Mickovski, L.P.H van B