Root Pullout Properties of Three Slope-Protecting Herbaceous Plants in Earth-Rock Mountain Area in Shanxi Province

Authors Zhang Chaobo; Zhou Xia; Li Dongrong; Jiang Jing; Wei Yang

Journal Research of Soil and Water Conservation , 2019,3:26

Abstract In order to understand root pullout properties of the herbaceous plants and to select proper species for soil and water conservation in earth-rock mountain area in Shanxi Province,root pullout forces of three plant species,Vetiveria zizanioides L.,Paspalum notatum Flugge and Lolium perenne L.were studied by in-situ root pullout tests.The results showed that root pullout forces increased with root diameter and the relationships between root pullout force and root diameters of the three herbaceous plants could be described by power function;the root pullout forces of the three herbaceous plants decreased in the order:Vetiveria zizanioides L.>Lolium perenne L.>Paspalum notatum Flugge,and the differences between them were significant;in D≤0.4 mm and D>0.4 mm root groups,Lolium perenne L.showed better pullout property;root pullout forces of Vetiveria zizanioides L.and Paspalum notatumwere were similar in 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm soil layers,while that of LoliumperenneL.was more effective in 0-10 cm soil layer than 10-20 cm soil layer;according to root pullout force,Lolium perenne L.was a priority among the three species in terms of reinforcing shallow soil with herbaceous plant.The root pullout properties of the three herbaceous plants under different root diameter groups and soil depths were studied,and the results could provide theoretic basis for selecting herbaceous species for soil and water conservation in earth-rock mountain area in Shanxi Province.