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USING A COMBINED SLOPE HYDROLOGY/STABILITY MODEL TO IDENTIFY SUITABLE CONDITIONS FOR LANDSLIDE PREVENTION BY VEGETATION IN THE HUMID TROPICS
Author(s) -
COLLISON A. J. C.,
ANDERSON M. G.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
earth surface processes and landforms
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.294
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1096-9837
pISSN - 0197-9337
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9837(199608)21:8<737::aid-esp674>3.0.co;2-f
Subject(s) - vegetation and slope stability , landslide , hydrology (agriculture) , slope stability , infiltration (hvac) , vegetation (pathology) , vegetation cover , environmental science , geology , water table , water balance , soil water , soil science , geotechnical engineering , groundwater , ecology , land use , geography , medicine , pathology , biology , meteorology
The susceptibility of cut slopes to landsliding can be reduced in certain circumstances by the establishment of a vegetation cover. However, the hydrological implications of allowing a cover to develop may offset the mechanical benefits of soil reinforcement by roots. The balance between hydrological and mechanical effects is critical on slopes which are susceptible to the development of an infiltration‐induced transitory perched water table, a common cause of landslides in deep, tropical residual soils. This balance is likely to change both between slopes of different types as well as temporally on any given slope. The net effect of a vegetation cover must be predicted either before natural vegetation covers are allowed to encroach on bare slopes, or if engineers are considering the use of trees as a protective measure. This paper presents a method of calculating the impact of a vegetation cover on slope stability. Simulations carried out on a wide range of slope types suggest that where failure is most likely to be triggered by infiltration rather than ground water rise, large‐scale vegetation covers may contribute to instability. Whether vegetation had a positive or negative impact on slope stability was controlled by the permeability of the soil matrix, whilst the magnitude of impact was controlled by the soil strength and the slope height.