Mechanism underlying the uprooting of taproot-type shrub species in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai- Xizang Plateau, China

doi:10.1007/s40333-024-0032-0

Journal of Arid Land

2024, Vol. 16

Issue (10): 1426-1443 DOI: 10.1007/s40333-024-0032-0 CSTR: 32276.14.s40333-024-0032-0

Research article

Mechanism underlying the uprooting of taproot-type shrub species in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai- Xizang Plateau, China

LIANG Shen¹, WANG Shu¹, LIU Yabin¹^,²^,^*(

), PANG Jinghao¹, ZHU Haili¹^,², LI Guorong¹^,², HU Xiasong¹^,²

¹School of Geological Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
²Key Laboratory of Genozoic Resource & Environment in North Margin of the Tibet Plateau, Xining 810016, China

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Abstract

Characteristics of root pullout resistance determine the capacity to withstand uprooting and the slope protection ability of plants. However, mechanism underlying the uprooting of taproot-type shrub species in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China remains unclear. In this study, a common taproot-type shrub, Caragana korshinskii Kom., in northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau was selected as the research material. Mechanism of root-soil interaction of vertical root of C. korshinskii was investigated via a combination of a single-root pullout test and numerical simulation analysis. The results indicated that, when pulling vertically, axial force of the roots decreased with an increase in buried depth, whereas shear stress at root-soil interface initially increased and then decreased as burial depths increased. At the same buried depth, both axial force and shear stress of the roots increased with the increase in pullout force. Shear stress and plastic zone of the soil surrounding the root were symmetrically distributed along the root system. Plastic zone was located close to the surface and was caused primarily by tensile failure. In nonvertical pulling, symmetry of shear stress and plastic zone of the soil surrounding the root was disrupted. We observed larger shear stress and plastic zones on the side facing the direction of root deflection. Plastic zone included both shear and tensile failure. Axial force of the root system near the surface decreased as deflection angle of the pullout force increased. When different rainfall infiltration depths had the same vertical pulling force, root axial force decreased with the increase of rainfall infiltration depth and total root displacement increased. During rainfall infiltration, shear stress and plastic zone of the soil surrounding the root were prone to propagating deeper into the soil. These findings provide a foundation for further investigation of soil reinforcement and slope protection mechanisms of taproot-type shrub species in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and similar areas.

Key words： Qinghai-Xizang Plateau shrub roots pullout test numerical simulation mechanism root-soil interaction

Received: 07 May 2024 Published: 31 October 2024

Corresponding Authors: * LIU Yabin (E-mail: liuyabincug@163.com)

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	LIANG Shen
	WANG Shu
	LIU Yabin
	PANG Jinghao
	ZHU Haili
	LI Guorong
	HU Xiasong

Cite this article:

LIANG Shen, WANG Shu, LIU Yabin, PANG Jinghao, ZHU Haili, LI Guorong, HU Xiasong. Mechanism underlying the uprooting of taproot-type shrub species in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai- Xizang Plateau, China. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(10): 1426-1443.

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http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-024-0032-0 OR http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2024/V16/I10/1426

Fig. 1 Single-root pullout test. (a), single-root segments with resistive strain gauges; (b), self-constructed instrument used to conduct the pullout test. One of the roots in Figure 1a is the root system used in the preliminary experiment.

Table 1 Soil physical properties in the study area

Fig. 2 Characteristics of axial force and shear stress of roots during pullout under different loads. (a), axial force distribution curve for 0.80 m root; (b), shear stress distribution curve for 0.80 m root; (c), axial force distribution curve for 1.20 m root; (d), shear stress distribution curve for 1.20 m root; (e), axial force distribution curve for 1.50 m root; (f), shear stress distribution curve for 1.50 m root.

Fig. 3 Root axial force diagram under different vertical pullout forces. (a), 0.42 kN; (b), 0.84 kN; (c), 1.26 kN; (d), 1.80 kN. X, Y, and Z are the directions of length, width, and height of the model, respectively.

Fig. 4 Distribution characteristics of shear stress and plastic zone of soil surrounding root under different vertical pullout forces. (a)-(d), distribution characteristics of shear stress of soil surrounding root under different vertical pullout forces of 0.42, 0.84, 1.26, and 1.80 kN, respectively; (e)-(h), distribution characteristics of plastic zone of soil surrounding root under different vertical pullout forces of 0.42, 0.84, 1.26, and 1.80 kN, respectively. Tension-n, shear-p, and tension-p are the unit that is in tensile yield now, the unit that is in shear yield in the past, and the unit that is in tensile yield in the past, respectively.

Fig. 5 Distribution of root axial force under different pullout angles

Fig. 6 Distribution of shear stress of soil surrounding root under different pullout angles. (a), 30°; (b), 60°; (c), shear stress of root-soil interface under different pullout angles and sides.

Fig. 7 Plastic zone of soil surrounding root under different pullout angles. (a), 30°; (b), 60°. Shear-n is the unit that is in shear yield now.

Fig. 8 Distribution of root axial force under different rainfall infiltration depths. d is the rainfall infiltration depth.

Fig. 9 Distribution of shear stress of soil surrounding root under vertical pullout and different rainfall infiltration depths. (a), 0.50 m; (b), 1.50 m; (c), shear stress of root-soil interface under vertical pullout and different rainfall infiltration depths.

Fig. 10 Plastic zone of soil surrounding root under vertical pullout with rainfall infiltration depths of 0.50 m (a) and 1.50 m (b). Root displacement under vertical pullout for rainfall infiltration depths of 0.50 m (c) and 1.50 m (d).

Fig. 11 Schematic diagram of root system stress under non vertical pull-out force. A-A, B-B, and C-C are the cross-sections of root system near pullout force, transitional root system, and root system far away from pullout force, respectively.


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