Soil reinforcement by the root system of six dominant species on eroded mountainous marly slopes (Southern Alps, France)

M. Burylo (1) , C. Hudek (2) , Rey F Nom_exemple (1)

1 UR EMGR - Ecosystèmes montagnards
2 Faculty of horticultural science

In marly catchments of the French Southern Alps, the development of plant root systems is essential to increase slope stability and mitigate soil erosion, prevalent in this area. In a context of land restoration, it is important to be able to evaluate plant efficiency for soil reinforcement. This paper presents the results of investigations carried out on six dominant species from marly gullies and aims to compare the additional soil cohesion they provide. The six following species were collected: two tree species, Pinus nigra and Quercus pubescens, two shrubby species, Genista cinerea and Thymus serpyllum, and two herbaceous species, Achnatherum calamagrostis and Aphyllantes monspeliensis. For each of them, we measured root tensile strength and root area ratio in order to calculate the potential root reinforcement and to compare species suitability to prevent shallow mass movements. Results showed significant differences between species. The herbaceous species Aphyllantes monspeliensis and the shrubby species Genista cinerea provided the highest increase in soil shear strength while the tree species, Pinus nigra and Quercus pubescens were the least efficient at the early stages of plant development. These results, along with the knowledge on vegetation dynamics and species response to erosive constraint, allow us to better evaluate land vulnerability to erosion and the efficiency of restoration actions in eroded marly lands.

Mots clés: EROSION; VEGETATION; RACINE; MARNE; TRAIT FONCTIONNEL

Domaines: Ingénierie de l'environnement

M. Burylo, C. Hudek, Rey F Nom_exemple. Soil reinforcement by the root system of six dominant species on eroded mountainous marly slopes (Southern Alps, France). CATENA, 2010, 84 (1-2), 42 p. ⟨hal-00537294⟩