• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.94 no.4 s.161
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• pp.281-286
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• 2005

Trees enhance slope stability against down slope mass movement through the removal of soil water by transpiration and by the mechanical reinforcement of their roots. To assess the magnitude of this reinforcement on natural slope stability, direct shear tests were made on dry sand reinforced with different array types of roots. Pinus koraiensis was used as root specimens. The peak shear resistance at each normal stress level was measured on the rooted and unrooted soil specimens. Increased soil resistance(${\Delta}S$) by roots was calculated using parameters like internal friction angle and cohesion of tested soil and also evaluated the effects of root array in tested soil. As results, we find that shear resistance increased in tested soil shear box as diameters and arrayed numbers of root specimen increased and cross root array in tested soil had a much greater reinforcing effect than other root arrays. Comparison of traditional root-soil model with experiments showed that simulated reinforce strength by the model was different with those obtained by the experiment due to its linearity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.41-54
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• 2011

Tree roots can enhance soil shear strength and slope stability. However, there has been a limited study about root reinforcement of major tree species in Korea because of some experimental difficulties. Thus, this study was conducted to analyze the performance of Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) and Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) which are two common plantation species in Korea. Profile wall method was used to measure the spatial distribution of root system and its diameter within 15 soil walls of Japanese larch stand and 13 soil walls of Korean pine stand in Taehwa University Forest, Seoul National University, Korea. Root tensile properties of each species were assessed in the laboratory, and root reinforcements were estimated by Wu model. The study observed that the number and cross-sectional area (CSA) of root in both species could tend to decrease with soil depth. Especially, CSA were well-fitted to exponential functions of soil depth. Mean root area ratios (RAR) were 0.03% and 0.10% for Japanese larch and Korean pine, respectively. Estimated root reinforcement from Wu model were, on the average, 4.04 kPa for Japanese larch and 12.26 kPa for Korean pine. Overall, it was concluded that root reinforcement increased the factor of safety (Fs) of slope for small-scale landslide as the result of two-dimensional (2-D) infinite slope stability analysis considering vegetation effects.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.51-66
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• 1991

In the stability analysis of hillside slopes, the roots of vegetation have been considered to act as a soil reinforcement. In order to predict the amount of increase in soil shear resistance, produced by tensile strength of roots that intersect a potential slip surface in hillside slopes, new soil -root interaction models are proposed in this paper. For this purpose, firstly, laboratary teats and in-situ tests wert performed on soil-root systems, and experimental results were compared with a couple of soil-root interaction models which had been proposed by Gray, Waldron, and Wu etc. Based on this comparison, a new soil-root interaction model is proposed. Secondly, a probabilistic soil-root model is proposed based on statistical analysis considering random nature of root distribution, root characteristics, and soil-root interactions. Finally, to examine the effect of this root reinforcement system on stability of hillside slopes, a simple three-dimensional stability analysis was performed, and it was shown that root reinforcement had a significant stabilizing influence on shallow slips rather than deep slips in hillside slopes.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.314-327
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• 1997

A 2-dimensional soil water flow model was developed to describe the migration of soil moisture in drip-irrigated root zone employing cylindrical coordinate system. Several natural phenomena were incorporated into the model such as transpiration, various types of evaporation, and ponding due to the increase in irrigation rate. Model was solved numerically by finite difference method. The model was verified in several ways leading to the conclusion that it can describe the soil moisture migration in drip-irrigated root zone fairly well. From sensitivity analysis, vertical migration of soil moisture was found to move faster than the horizontal one, which indicates the vertical location just under the dripping point are adequate for measuring points of soil moisture. The pot shape of soil moisture in irrigated zone was proved to be caused by evaporation at the soil surface. Also, it was found that the hydraulic conductivity has greatly influential to the soil moisture migration, and that the soil moisture continues to migrate vertically after irrigation stops.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.29-39
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• 1993

A model for estimating daily effective rainfall of upland crops was developed. The infiltration process was described by Green-Ampt infiltration model developed by Chu(1978). The model considers delayed surface ponding and surface detention storage under a uniform soil profile. The Green-Ampt parameters, that is, average hydraulic conductivity and average capillary pressure head on a sandy loam soil were determined from field experiment using Air-entry permeameter developed by Bouwer(1966). The model was verified by comparing measured and simulated surface runoff. The ratios of effective rainfall to total rainfall for red pepper, soybean, sesame and Chinese cabbage were evaluated using Borg's root growth model( 1986) respectively. The followings are a summary of this study results; 1.In a sandy loam soil average hydraulic conductivity was 3.28cm/hr and average capillary pressure head was 3.00cm. 2.The root growth of upland crops could be expressed by Borg's root growth model successively. 3.The measured and simulated surface runoff was agreed well with each other. 4.As the rainfall amount was increased, the ratio of effective rainfall to total rainfall was decreased exponentially till a certain growing period.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.9
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• pp.109-114
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• 1991

The depth and spread of root systems and the density of root branching affect the success and survival of plants subjected to drought. The type and size of root systems are controlled by heredity and soil conditions. There are also important interaction between roots and shoots; roots are dependent on shoots for carbohydrates, growth regulators, and certain vitamins, and shoots are dependent on roots for water, minerals, and certain growth regulators. Pinus thunbergii Parlatore had most of roots in the top 20cm of soil, and had little short of roots in the less than 80cm of soil. Average of root density was $270cm/cm^3$ in the upper soil(0~20cm). Root density of Pinus thunbergii Parlatore was similar to that of Cryptomeria japonica. There is no saying that Pinus thunbergii Parlatore has an advantage over Cryptomeria japonica in the drought. This data will be used to the root density values in the simulation model of black pine stands.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.60-69
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• 2016

In this study, we estimated root zone soil moisture dynamics using remotely sensed (RS) data. A soil moisture data assimilation scheme was used to derive the soil and root parameters from MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Based on the estimated soil/root parameters and weather forcings, soil moisture dynamics were simulated at spatio-temporal scales based on a hydrological model. For calibration/validation, the Little Washita (LW13) in Oklahoma and Chungmi-cheon/Seolma-cheon sites were selected. The derived water retention curves matched the observations at LW 13. Also, the simulated soil moisture dynamics at these sites was in agreement with the Time Domain Reflectrometry (TDR)-based measurements. To test the applicability of this approach at ungauged regions, the soil/root parameters at the pixel where the Seolma-cheon site is located were derived from the calibrated MODIS-based (Chungmi-cheon) soil moisture data. Then, the simulated soil moisture was validated using the measurements at the Seolma-cheon site. The results were slightly overestimated compared to the measurements, but these findings support the applicability of this proposed approach in ungauged regions with predictable uncertainties. These findings showed the potential of this approach in Korea. Thus, this proposed approach can be used to assess root zone soil moisture dynamics at spatio-temporal scales across Korea, which comprises mountainous regions with dense forest.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.174-179
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• 2010

In order to interpret yield response of sugar beet to nitrogen fertilizer, and pig manure compost in saline-sodic soil of reclaimed tidal land, 4 kinds of response model, i.e., quadratic, exponential, square root, and linear response, and plateau model, are applied. The root fresh yield of sugar beet decreased exponentially with the increase of soil EC. The root fresh yield of sugar beet to nitrogen fertilizer was fitted best to the linear response, and plateau model among 4 yield response models with highly significant determination coefficient ($R^2=0.92^{**}$). The optimum N rate determined on the model was 138 kg N $ha^{-1}$. The root fresh yield of sugar beet to pig manure compost was fitted best to the quadratic model among 4 yield response models with highly significant determination coefficient ($R^2=0.99^{**}$). The maximum N rate determined on the model was 9.17 ton $ha^{-1}$. In conclusion, the proper model to interpret the yield of sugar beet in saline-sodic soil differs with the kinds of nutrient, linear response, and plateau model for fertilizer nitrogen, and quadratic model to pig manure compost.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.113-119
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• 2014

To examine the soil reinforcement by the shrub with shallow root systems for slope stability, we developed insitu apparatus for direct shear test and conducted the insitu field tests for Lespedeza cyrtobotrya, a representative revegetation species for artificial hillslopes. The insitu field tests were conducted for two different soil conditions (the rooted soils and non-rooted soils) and we then compared the experimental values with those calculated from the Wu model. The results showed that the soil reinforcement derived from the insitu field tests ranged from 0.01525 to 0.1438 $kgf/cm^2$ while the one calculated from the Wu model ranged from 0.1952 to 0.2696 $kgf/cm^2$. Our finding suggests more field tests are needed to collect the related parameters in the model application thereby predicting the reliable soil reinforcement by the shrub root systems.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.313-329
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• 2013

Vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides) is being effectively used in many countries to protect embankment and slopes for their characteristics of having long and strong roots. In this paper, in-situ shear tests of the ground with the vetiver roots have been conducted to investigate the stabilization properties corresponding to the embankment slopes. Numerical analyses have also been performed with the finite element method using elastoplastic subloading $t_{ij}$ model, which can simulate typical soil behavior. It is revealed from field tests that the shear strength of vetiver rooted soil matrix is higher than that of the unreinforced soil. The reinforced soil with vetiver root also shows ductile behavior. The numerical analyses capture well the results of the in-situ shear tests. Effectiveness of vetiver root in geotechnical structures-strip foundation and embankment slope has been evaluated by finite element analyses. It is found that the reinforcement with vetiver root enhances the bearing capacities of the grounds and stabilizes the embankment slopes.