Preliminary field data of selected deep-rooted vegetation effects on the slope-vegetation-atmosphere interaction: results from an in-situ test 

Abstract

<p>The soil-vegetation-atmosphere interaction is becoming more and more the subject of intense scientific research, motivated by the wish of using smart vegetation implants as sustainable mitigation measure for erosive phenomena and slope instability processes. <br>The use of novel naturalistic interventions making use of vegetation has been already proven to be successful in the reduction of erosion along sloping grounds, or in increasing the stability of the shallow covers of slopes, whereas the success of vegetation as slope stabilization measure still needs to be scientifically proven for slopes location of deep landslides, whose current activity is climate-induced, as frequent in the south-eastern Apennines. Recently, though, peculiar natural perennial grass species, which develop deep root systems, have been found to grow in the semi-arid climate characterizing the south-eastern Apennines and to determine a strong transpirative flow. Therefore, their peculiar leaf architecture, their crop density, combined with their perennial status and transpiration capacity, make such grass species suitable for the reduction of the net infiltration rates, equal to the difference between the rainfall rate and the sum of the runoff plus the evapotranspiration rate. As such, the grass species here of reference have been selected as vegetation measure intended to determine a reduction of the piezometric levels in the slope down to large depths, in order to increase the stability of deep landslide bodies. <br>At this stage, only preliminary field data representing the interaction of clayey soils with the above cited vegetation species are available. These have been logged within a full scale in-situ test site, where the deep-rooted crop spices have been seeded and farmed. The test site (approximatively 2000 m<sup>2</sup>) has been set up in the toe area of the climate-induced Pisciolo landslide, in the eastern sector of the Southern Apennines.<br>The impact of the vegetation on the hydro-mechanical state of the soil is examined in terms of the spatial and temporal variation of the soil water content, suction an pore water pressure from ground level down to depth, both within the vegetated test site and outside it, where only spare wild vegetation occur, in order to assess the effects of the implant of the selected vegetation. The soil water contents, suctions and pore water pressures have been also analyzed taking into account of the climatic actions, monitored by means of a meteorological station. </p>

An Integrated Infrastructure Resilience Approach, from the Geotechnical Asset to the Transport Network

“…For slope stability, a critical measurable index is the pore water pressure, which is related to cumulative rainfall over a nominally long period of time. For instance, [24] has presented the influence of previous cumulative rainfall on slope movements. A geotechnical engineering analysis is required for the identification of possible risk hotspots.…”

“…The authors from [24] highlighted the need for the standardization of engineering quantification metrics in diverse engineering disciplines and categorized two resilience quantification metrics: (a) deterministic versus probabilistic and/or (b) static versus dynamic. Resilience metrics are presented based on the resilience curve (Figure 4) as well as the pre-and post-disruption performances, reliability and restoration.…”

Recent Advances in Nature-Inspired Solutions for Ground Engineering (NiSE)

“…Leucanthemum vulgare, Filipendula ulmaria, Achillea millefolium and Knautia arvensis). Instrumentations allow measurement of volumetric water content, electrical conductivity and soil temperature [72]; b Pisciolo hillslope in southern Italy covered with c C3-cycle leguminous and d C4-cycle Gramineae plants [85] of Ottawa 110 sand. They reported a sharp, substantial and rapid decrease in permeability (unwelcomed in the context of NiSE), no change to the compression P-wave velocity (measured by piezoceramic transducer) over time, an increase in shear S-wave velocity (measured by bender elements), no change to P-wave peak-to-peak amplitude and, hence, the pace of seismic waves attenuation.…”

The Use of Soil Moisture and Pore-Water Pressure Sensors for the Interpretation of Landslide Behavior in Small-Scale Physical Models

“…For example, numerical modelling has been successfully used to investigate how different factors affect the stability of both shallow (e.g., [ 1 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 16 , 17 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]) and deep-seated landslides under different rainfall conditions (e.g., [ 19 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]). Field monitoring has been successfully used to observe the hydraulic and mechanical performance of slopes in different geological and climatic contexts (e.g., [ 7 , 17 , 21 , 22 , 31 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ]). Particularly valuable data have been obtained from field experiments conducted on instrumented slopes subjected to increasing soil moisture conditions using rainfall simulators or controlled water inflows from trenches ...…”

“…Field monitoring has been successfully used to observe the hydraulic and mechanical performance of slopes in different geological and climatic contexts (e.g., [ 7 , 17 , 21 , 22 , 31 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ]). Particularly valuable data have been obtained from field experiments conducted on instrumented slopes subjected to increasing soil moisture conditions using rainfall simulators or controlled water inflows from trenches (e.g., [ 24 , 42 , 51 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 ]). Various laboratory devices have been successfully used to observe the HM response of intact or remolded soil samples undergoing conditions representative of soil elements on a slope during the rainfall infiltration (e.g., [ 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ]).…”