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Effect of Root Moisture Content and Diameter on Root Tensile Properties

The stabilization of slopes by vegetation has been a topical issue for many years. Root mechanical characteristics significantly influence soil reinforcement; therefore it is necessary to research into the indicators of root tensile properties. In this study, we explored the influence of root moistu...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Yang, Yuanjun, Chen, Lihua, Li, Ning, Zhang, Qiufen
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4803321/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27003872
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151791
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author Yang, Yuanjun
Chen, Lihua
Li, Ning
Zhang, Qiufen
author_facet Yang, Yuanjun
Chen, Lihua
Li, Ning
Zhang, Qiufen
author_sort Yang, Yuanjun
collection PubMed
description The stabilization of slopes by vegetation has been a topical issue for many years. Root mechanical characteristics significantly influence soil reinforcement; therefore it is necessary to research into the indicators of root tensile properties. In this study, we explored the influence of root moisture content on tensile resistance and strength with different root diameters and for different tree species. Betula platyphylla, Quercus mongolica, Pinus tabulaeformis, and Larix gmelinii, the most popular tree species used for slope stabilization in the rocky mountainous areas of northern China, were used in this study. A tensile test was conducted after root samples were grouped by diameter and moisture content. The results showedthat:1) root moisture content had a significant influence on tensile properties; 2) slightly loss of root moisture content could enhance tensile strength, but too much loss of water resulted in weaker capacity for root elongation, and consequently reduced tensile strength; 3) root diameter had a strong positive correlation with tensile resistance; and4) the roots of Betula platyphylla had the best tensile properties when both diameter and moisture content being controlled. These findings improve our understanding of root tensile properties with root size and moisture, and could be useful for slope stabilization using vegetation.
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spelling pubmed-48033212016-03-25 Effect of Root Moisture Content and Diameter on Root Tensile Properties Yang, Yuanjun Chen, Lihua Li, Ning Zhang, Qiufen PLoS One Research Article The stabilization of slopes by vegetation has been a topical issue for many years. Root mechanical characteristics significantly influence soil reinforcement; therefore it is necessary to research into the indicators of root tensile properties. In this study, we explored the influence of root moisture content on tensile resistance and strength with different root diameters and for different tree species. Betula platyphylla, Quercus mongolica, Pinus tabulaeformis, and Larix gmelinii, the most popular tree species used for slope stabilization in the rocky mountainous areas of northern China, were used in this study. A tensile test was conducted after root samples were grouped by diameter and moisture content. The results showedthat:1) root moisture content had a significant influence on tensile properties; 2) slightly loss of root moisture content could enhance tensile strength, but too much loss of water resulted in weaker capacity for root elongation, and consequently reduced tensile strength; 3) root diameter had a strong positive correlation with tensile resistance; and4) the roots of Betula platyphylla had the best tensile properties when both diameter and moisture content being controlled. These findings improve our understanding of root tensile properties with root size and moisture, and could be useful for slope stabilization using vegetation. Public Library of Science 2016-03-22 /pmc/articles/PMC4803321/ /pubmed/27003872 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151791 Text en © 2016 Yang et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Yang, Yuanjun
Chen, Lihua
Li, Ning
Zhang, Qiufen
Effect of Root Moisture Content and Diameter on Root Tensile Properties
title Effect of Root Moisture Content and Diameter on Root Tensile Properties
title_full Effect of Root Moisture Content and Diameter on Root Tensile Properties
title_fullStr Effect of Root Moisture Content and Diameter on Root Tensile Properties
title_full_unstemmed Effect of Root Moisture Content and Diameter on Root Tensile Properties
title_short Effect of Root Moisture Content and Diameter on Root Tensile Properties
title_sort effect of root moisture content and diameter on root tensile properties
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4803321/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27003872
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151791
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