Effects of soil saturation and suction on root reinforcement performance: pull-out experiments on six native Australian plants

Effects of soil saturation and suction on root reinforcement performance: pull-out experiments on six native Australian plants | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Effects of soil saturation and suction on root reinforcement performance: pull-out experiments on six native Australian plants Jiale Zhu, Abbas El-Zein, Thomas C.T. Hubble, Guien Miao This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4581856/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Mar, 2025 Read the published version in Acta Geotechnica → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Improving shallow slope stability with vegetation requires an understanding of root reinforcement performance, in addition to consideration of local ecological impacts. Existing root reinforcement models have not accounted for the influence of soil water content, due to insufficient experimental evidence and theoretical understanding. In this study, the root reinforcement behaviour of six Australian native plants ( A. costata , B. integrifolia , E. reticulatus , P. incisa , C. citrinus , and M. thymifolia ) are examined through vertical pull-out tests under various levels of volumetric water content (VWC) and suction. Additionally, this study employed two root reinforcement models to illustrate the impact of VWC on comparing the performance of these models with experimental results. The study also employs an innovative approach by making an analogy to soil nails or piles and normalising pull-out force against the peripheral surface area of root-soil bundles, defining this as pull-out stress. The results show that VWC and suction have a strong influence on reinforcement, with an roughly linear inverse relationship observed between VWC and pull-out force of root bundles recorded for all species. The pull-out stress followed a non-linear inverse relationship with VWC and suction as the pull-out force. Furthermore, discrepancies between established-model predictions and experimental data widen with increasing VWCs. It is also found that inadequate sampling can also lead to substantial errors in estimating the actual water content of the soil. The study demonstrates that VWC and suction significantly impact root reinforcement performance, with pull-out strength decreasing as VWC increases. The study also highlights the importance of accurately recording soil water content in root reinforcement experiments and modelling. Unsaturated Soil Slope Reinforcement Pull-out Test Native Australian flora Root Reinforcement Model Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Mar, 2025 Read the published version in Acta Geotechnica → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 22 Jan, 2025 Reviews received at journal 16 Jan, 2025 Reviews received at journal 15 Jan, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Jan, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Jan, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Aug, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 28 Aug, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 18 Jun, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 17 Jun, 2024 First submitted to journal 14 Jun, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4581856","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":354469804,"identity":"3fa3f7f4-3f7a-4e34-b23a-cc2d30522295","order_by":0,"name":"Jiale Zhu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABDklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxmYGxgNAOoGBvYGBgQciaEBICwNEC88BIrWAAESLRAKRWpjbmR8c+MBQl2dw8/kzibc7bBIb2Ju3STDUHMbjMDaDgzMY2IoNbueYSc49k5bYwHOsTILhGD4tDAaHeRh4EjfczmGT5m07nNggkWMmwcCGTwv7h8N/GCQSN9w8/gyo5X9ig/wboJZ/+LTwGABlDRI33GAwA2o5ALSFx0yCsQ2vloKDPQYJiTPP5Bhbzm1LNm7jSSu2SOxLx6nFsP/4xgc/KuoS+44ff3jjbZudbD/74Y03Pnyzxq2lAURCIoJFAkg4toGYCTg1MDDII7GZPwAJezyKR8EoGAWjYIQCANRUVxvjDwN6AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"The University of Sydney","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jiale","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhu","suffix":""},{"id":354469805,"identity":"d17e9bc8-1f66-4847-86c7-7a5ba494c7d3","order_by":1,"name":"Abbas El-Zein","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The University of Sydney","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Abbas","middleName":"","lastName":"El-Zein","suffix":""},{"id":354469806,"identity":"e69a0621-e405-487c-ad6e-c2f8172db6fe","order_by":2,"name":"Thomas C.T. 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Existing root reinforcement models have not accounted for the influence of soil water content, due to insufficient experimental evidence and theoretical understanding. In this study, the root reinforcement behaviour of six Australian native plants (\u003cem\u003eA. costata\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eB. integrifolia\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eE. reticulatus\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eP. incisa\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eC. citrinus\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eM. thymifolia\u003c/em\u003e) are examined through vertical pull-out tests under various levels of volumetric water content (VWC) and suction. Additionally, this study employed two root reinforcement models to illustrate the impact of VWC on comparing the performance of these models with experimental results. 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