Study on Vegetation Root Strength of Pioneer Plants for Forest Areas in Taiwan

Forest plant roots may restrain the occurrence of shallow landslides for forest land and pioneer tree species can also reduce runoff and soil erosion;thus they are useful practical ecological materials for landslide control and erosion control. In this study, two important pioneer plant species ; Formosan Alder （Alnus formosana Makino） and Roxburgh Sumac （Rhus chinensis Mill. Var, roxburghi i（DC. ） Rehd. ） were selected at landslide areas under vegetation treatments for soil and water conservation. In order to obtain the root strength model for the factors affecting pulling resistance and root tensile strength, experimental materials were tested and the data were analyzed using regression techniques. These models could be used to provide the index of slope stability and to quantify the root-strength using non-destructive methods.

Study on Vegetation Root Strength of Pioneer Plants for Forest Areas in Taiwan

Forest plant roots may restrain the occurrence of shallow landslides for forest land and pioneer tree species can also reduce runoff and soil erosion;thus they are useful practical ecological materials for landslide control and erosion control.In this study,two important pioneer plant species;Formosan Alder (Alnus formosana Makino) and Roxburgh Sumac (Rhus chinensis Mill.Var.roxburghi i(DC.) Rehd.) were selected at landslide areas under vegetation treatments for soil and water conservation.In order to obtain the root strength model for the factors affecting pulling resistance and root tensile strength,experimental materials were tested and the data were analyzed using regression techniques.These models could be used to provide the index of slope stability and to quantify the root-strength using non-destructive methods.