Tree-root control of shallow landslides

Cohen, Denis; Schwarz, Massimiliano

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-451-2017

Articles | Volume 5, issue 3

https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-451-2017

© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-451-2017

© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 5, issue 3

Research article

|

17 Aug 2017

Research article |

| 17 Aug 2017

Tree-root control of shallow landslides

Denis Cohen and Massimiliano Schwarz

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Final revised paper (published on 17 Aug 2017)
Preprint (discussion started on 24 Feb 2017)

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment

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- Supplement

RC1: 'Referee comment', Anonymous Referee #1, 20 Apr 2017
- AC1: 'Response to reviewer 1', Denis Cohen, 09 Jun 2017
RC2: 'Review of "Tree-roots control of shallow landslides"', Anonymous Referee #2, 01 May 2017
- AC2: 'Response to reviewer 2', Denis Cohen, 09 Jun 2017
EC1: 'Minor revisions', Richard Gloaguen, 03 May 2017
- AC3: 'Response to editorial comments', Denis Cohen, 16 Jun 2017

Peer-review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision

AR by Denis Cohen on behalf of the Authors (23 Jun 2017) Author's response Manuscript

ED: Publish as is (05 Jul 2017) by Richard Gloaguen

ED: Publish as is (14 Jul 2017) by Tom Coulthard (Editor)

AR by Denis Cohen on behalf of the Authors (15 Jul 2017) Manuscript

Short summary

Tree roots reinforce soils on slopes. A new slope stability model is presented that computes root reinforcement including the effects of root heterogeneities and dependence of root strength on tensile and compressive strain. Our results show that roots stabilize slopes that would otherwise fail under a rainfall event. Tension in roots is more effective than compression. Redistribution of forces in roots across the hillslope plays a key role in the stability of the slope during rainfall events.