e c o l o g i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g 2 8 ( 2 0 0 6 ) 9095

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Parameters to predict slope stabilitySoil water

and root proles

Normaniza Osman , S.S. Barakbah

Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A survey was conducted on ve slopes of differing slope integrity along the NorthSouth
Received 24 January 2006 Expressway, Malaysia, to study the effects of vegetation on slope stability. Results showed
Received in revised form signicant effects of vegetation cover on slope stability in two extreme slopes, type A and
20 April 2006 type E, which represented stable and failed slopes, respectively. The highest root length
Accepted 25 April 2006 density (RLD) was observed in type A slope due to the high density of vegetation cover,
which eventually resulted in a lower soil water content (SWC). In contrast, the low biomass
density of type E slope possessed a low RLD but high SWC, characteristics of a failed slope.
Keywords: Some correlations were also observed: RLD is positively related to shear strength and SWC is
Ecological engineering negatively related to both soil shear strength and soil penetrability. Thus, the study suggests
Soilplantatmosphere continuum that SWC and RLD could be used as indicators of slope stability and has the potential to
Root length density predict slope failure in the future.
Soil penetrability 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Soil shear strength

Abbreviations:
FC, eld capacity; RLD, root length
density; SWC, soil water content;
WAC, water absorption capacity

1. Introduction The signicant contribution of vegetation towards slope

The use of vegetation for preventing and controlling erosion
to stabilize slopes has been practiced throughout the world.
This new discipline has recently gained global recognition and
given a new entity, Ecological engineering (Mitsch, 1998). It
has been dened as the design of sustainable ecosystems
that integrate human society with its natural environment
for the benet of both. This soft approach of stabilizing
slope confers numerous advantages, including high biodi-
versity, low maintenance, self-sustainability as well as being
environmental-friendly.
stability can essentially be attributed to two major aspects:
water relation element via soilplantatmosphere continuum
(SPAC) (Coppin et al., 1990) and soil reinforcement by root
system (Gray, 1995). Plants is a major component of SPAC,
responsible for the suction force of water against gravity. By
absorbing part of the ground water, plants thus play a sig-
nicant role towards the drying of slopes (Huang and Nobel,
1994). This absorbed soil water will subsequently be removed
through the transpiration process into the atmosphere. Ulti-
mately, this water cycle system would result in drier and
more stable slopes. Concurrently, vegetation also contributes

Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 3 79674185; fax: +60 3 79674178.
E-mail address: normaniza@um.edu.my (N. Osman).
0925-8574/$ see front matter 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2006.04.004
 e c o l o g i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g 2 8 ( 2 0 0 6 ) 9095 91

to mass stability by increasing soil shear strength through
root reinforcement (Gray, 1995). The frequency of slope fail-
ure tends to increase when trees are cut down and their roots
decay. This gradual decay of interconnected root systems was
the principal cause of increased slope failure (Abe, 1997).
While the documentation is extensive in most parts of
the developed world, it is lacking in the developing world.
Slope problems vary between different geographical regions.
For instance, in European countries, barren steep slopes are
exposed to a range of uctuating temperatures and humidity,
while in Malaysia, they are exposed to torrential rains with
an annual average rainfall of 2500 mm. Thus, the hydrological
inuence on slope stability in Malaysia becomes a crucial ele-
ment and has been a major cause of previous disasters (Yoga,
2000). Due to this variability, the solutions are also different
and have to be specically tailored. In addition, the slope sta-
bility issue is a new phenomenon in Malaysia as development
of slopes on extensive scale has occurred only recently. Being
new, there is a severe lack of empirical data regarding the attri-
bution of plant cover on slope stability in Malaysia. Hence, it
is essential to establish, inter alia, data on the function of soil
water (e.g. SWC) and root (e.g. RLD) proles of slope stabil-
ity. In view of this, this survey was designed to create baseline
data on the relationship between SWC, RLD and slope stability.
The vegetation attributes of slope stability were also presented
in this study. Finally, the survey was also aimed determining
whether the proles of the parameter studied could be used
as slope stability indicators.
weight)/fresh weight] 100%. Field capacity (FC) of the soil
was determined by pouring excess water into a container
(10 cm 10 cm 15 cm) lled with soil so that the soil is super-
saturated. The excess water was drained out through small
holes at the bottom of the container. Once the water stopped
dripping, this saturated soil was weighed (SW) and oven-dried
at 80 C to obtain a constant dry weight (DW). FC was calcu-
lated by FC = [(SW DW)/SW] 100%.
For RLD, roots in segmented soil were measured using a leaf
area instrument (Image Analyser, Delta-T Devices, UK) with a
soil volume of 950 cm3 .
2.2.2. Soil penetrability
A penetrologger (Eijkelkamp Agrisearch Equipment, model
06.15, The Netherlands), was used to determine the resistance
to penetration of soil. This equipment is able to penetrate up
to 80 cm of soil depth using a 60 cone type (basal area of 1 cm2 )
with a constant speed of 2 cm/s.
2.2.3. Shear strength
Shear strength was measured at 10 cm of soil depth by using
a eld inspection vane tester (Eijkelkamp Agrisearch Equip-
ment, model 14.05, The Netherlands), which can provide val-
ues ranging from 0 to 260 kPa (10%).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Root length density (RLD)

2. Materials and methods The RLD of all slopes decreased with soil depth (Fig. 1). The
results indicate that RLD of the bushy slope (type A) was
2.1. Description of the sites the highest amongst the slopes. Its RLD was about twice
that of moderate vegetated slopes and ve times higher
This survey was carried out on slopes at ve different loca- than the RLD of the failed slope (Fig. 1). This trend of root
tions of differing integrity, from stable to failed slope, between proles is much related to the level of vegetation density in
3 21 3 45 N and 101 27 101 33 E along the NorthSouth the particular slopes and the trend was observed as follows:
Expressway (refer Table 1). total RLD (km m3 ): A (55.7) > B (26.3) > C (24.6) > D (22.1) >
F (11.0).
2.2. Measurements The results also showed that the highest RLD occurred
at the rst 10 cm in all types of slopes (Fig. 1), contribut-
2.2.1. Root and soil water proles ing 71.688.4% of the total RLD. At this depth, the root sys-
Cylindrical soil cores (11 cm diameter, 100 cm depth) were tem would extensively reinforce the soil at the upper soil
sampled (n = 3) using a soil-coring machine (Eijelkamp level and also protect the soil mass beneath (Coppin et al.,
Agrisearch Equipment, Model Cobra, The Netherlands) to 1990). The combined effects of vertical root anchorage and
determine RLD (every 10 cm) and SWC (11 cm diameter 20 cm lateral root traction are signicant in prohibiting instability
depth core). (Schroeder, 1985). This root co-operation facilitates the uproot-
For SWC determination, samples were oven-dried (80 C) ing resistance of individual root and this additive effect of the
to a constant weight and calculated as [(fresh weight dry roots enhances the soilroot reinforcement (Bailey et al., 2002).

Table 1 Description of the slope types along the NorthSouth Expressway

Location north-bound (NB)/south-bound (SB) Type of Vegetation Vegetation type (prominent State Slope
slope cover (%) (30 m2 ) species) of slope angle ( )

KM 386.6 NB (101 27 23.9 E; 03 45 10.4 N) A 100 Diverse species (13 m in height) Intact 40
KM 436.6 NB (101 33 12.1 E; 03 21 28.6 N) B 100 Diverse species (<1 m in height) Intact 35
KM 404.0 NB (101 32 4.4 E; 03 37 13.2 N) C 100 Fern, Melastoma sp. Intact 40
KM 423.4 SB (101 32 27 E; 03 28 1.9 N) D 80 Melastoma sp., grasses Intact 38
KM 397.8 SB (101 30 34.2 E; 03 40 10.6 N) E <30 Grasses Failed 32
92 e c o l o g i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g 2 8 ( 2 0 0 6 ) 9095

Fig. 2 Soil water content () and eld capacity (- - -) of the

studied slopes. It is noted that the type E slope was
virtually saturated at most depths, in fact super-saturated
at 60 cm. Arrows indicate mean of SWC.
Fig. 1 Root prole of the slope studied ( A,  B,  C, D,
and  E). The highest RLD was observed at the rst 10 cm
of soil depth in all type of slopes. Each point represents the
mean of four determinations.

Hence, high RLD would be one of the characteristics of sustain-

able slopes.

3.2. Soil water content (SWC)

In general, the range of SWC values in all type of slopes, except

type E, was lower than the eld capacity (Table 2). The satura-
tion level of the most stable slope, type A, was 58.1% (median),
while the moderated slopes (BD) were about 7889% which
also indicated the level of stability is outstanding as they are
unlikely to fail. However, it was observed that the failed slope
(type E) had the highest SWC (at all soil depths), with more
than twice that of the stable slope (type A, Fig. 2). The soil
was super-saturated at 60 cm soil depth and virtually satu-
rated at others (Fig. 2). The low root density (Fig. 1) of the
failed slope presumably caused low water absorption capac-
ity (WAC) which resulted in a saturated (100% saturation level, Fig. 3 Soil penetrability of the studied slopes ( type A, 
Table 2) and unstable slope. The ow of water from the higher type B,  type C, type D, and * type E).
ground exerts weight and pressure on soil particles, conse-
quently impairing the stability of the slope. Conversely, the
type A slope showed the lowest range of SWC, presumably 3.3. Soil penetrability
due to the dense vegetation cover above ground as well as
extensive root system below the ground. Thus, this will lead Most of the slopes studied (except type C) showed a parabolic
to the enhancement of water absorption capacity (WAC) by the relationship between penetrability and soil depth (Fig. 3). The
extensive root system and a higher leaf area for the transpira- penetrability of these slopes increased up to certain soil depth
tion process (Normaniza, 1998). and decreased beyond that. The increased penetrability is pre-

Table 2 Soil water content (%) and eld capacity (in parentheses) of the slopes studied
Slope type Range Mean Median % Saturation (median)

A 15.920.7 (27.735.3) 17.8 (32.0) 18.3 (31.5) 58.1

B 21.525.5 (29.231.4) 23.8 (30.5) 23.5 (30.3) 77.6
C 28.234.3 (33.636.8) 31.5 (35.4) 31.3 (35.2) 88.9
D 20.722.8 (25.130.9) 21.4 (27.6) 21.8 (28.0) 77.9
E 45.448.3 (44.049.4) 46.5 (46.6) 46.9 (46.9) 100.0
 e c o l o g i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g 2 8 ( 2 0 0 6 ) 9095 93

sumably brought about by the tensile property of the higher

roots and the increase in rootsoil bond (Zhou et al., 1997).
The lateral roots from neighbouring plants (include in the
core) may produce a maximum bonding force of the soilroot
interface to balance the stronger sliding or pulling force. Thus,
this binding effect creates maximum resistance by the roots
to increased penetrability, while the decreased value beyond
50 cm (types B and E) and 60 cm (type D) of soil depth (Fig. 3)
may be attributed to high SWC at those depths. On the other
hand, the failed slope (type E) had the lowest range of penetra-
bility (Fig. 3), possibly due to its lower RLD and higher SWC. For
the type C slope, a positive relationship was observed between
its penetrability and soil depth. The increment of penetrability
with soil depth is similar in trend to the root prole (second
highest amongst the plots at all soil depth) of the slope. Fig. 4 Shear strength value (kPa) at 10 cm of soil depth
(n = 8). Vertical bars represent standard deviation.
3.4. Shear strength

The result showed that there was a signicant difference
amongst the slopes studied (LSDp<0.05 = 8.8). The failed slope
had the lowest value of shear strength (Fig. 4), possibly due
to high SWC (nearly 50%, Fig. 2) (Head, 1980) and low RLD
(Schroeder, 1985). Saturation of a soil in the failed slope
decreased the frictional shear strength due to the buoy-
ant reduction in normal force. The saturated soil could also
destroy the capillarity and apparent cohesion of the soil. The
shear strength of type A slope was signicantly higher than
that of type E but signicantly lower than the shear strengths

Fig. 5 Correlations between the parameters studied.

94 e c o l o g i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g 2 8 ( 2 0 0 6 ) 9095
Table 3 Characteristics of a stable and failed slope
Parameter Stable Failed
RLD (km m3 ) 55.7 11.0
SWC (%) 15.920.7 45.448.3
Saturation level (%) 57.458.6 97.8103.2
Shear strength (kPa) 46.1 3.4 25.7 3.8
of other moderate density slopes. This could possibly be due to
the shear force of type A slope (beyond 10 cm) was enhanced
as the vertical roots penetrate deeper into the ground and
reinforced the soil. Whilst, the higher shear strength of moder-
ate density slopes (types BD) implied the importance of root
system as erosion control in these slopes. Since the mode of
measurement is limited up to 10 cm of soil depth, these slopes
is anticipated to have higher soilroot reinforcement at this
particular soil level compared to those in type A slope.
4. Correlations between parameters
Some correlations amongst the stability parameters were
analysed. Similar to most other studies (e.g. Materechera and
Mloza-Blanda, 1997), penetrability of all slopes was found to
be inversely related to SWC (Fig. 5a) (r = 0.71, p < 0.05). The
penetrability increases as SWC decreases, implying that low
penetrability can be a sign of saturated soil, a feature of a
failing slope. However, no relationship was observed between
penetrability and RLD (Fig. 5b). Root characteristics includ-
ing type, shape and distribution may also inuence the root
effects on penetrability (Schiechtl and Stern, 1996). There is
also a negative relationship between SWC and shear strength
up to the value of 50 kPa (Fig. 5c). However, beyond this point,
the shear strength was constant. The shear strength is con-
sistently low beyond 27%, implying the critical value of SWC
which inuences soil penetrability. In contrast, a positive rela-
tionship is observed between shear strength and RLD (Fig. 5d)
(r = 0.95, p < 0.05). A dense root density could help to reinforce
the soil by increasing its shear strength. Dwyer et al. (1988) also
indicated that maximum rooting development increases with
decreasing availability of soil water. This phenomenon may
contribute to the ow of water in the soilplantatmosphere
continuum (SPAC) and help avoid the super-saturated condi-
tion of the slope. The results also show that RLD can be used
as a determining factor in the stability of any slope.
5. Discussions
The overall results show that there is a clear effect of veg-
etation cover on the two slope stability functions: SWC and
RLD. The qualitative characteristics of the various types of
slopes in relation to values of the parameters studied could
be observed signicantly in the two extremes, type A and type
E, representing stable and failed slopes, respectively (Table 3).
The SWC and the total RLD of type A slope were 15.920.7%
and 55.7 km m3 , respectively, as opposed to 45.448.3% and
11.0 km m3 of type E slope (Table 3). The stable slope was
primarily due to a high biomass, which likely resulted in a
high soil water loss through transpiration. This phenomenon
would demand a large amount of water absorption by the root
to produce a ow in the SPAC (Huang and Nobel, 1994). It has
been shown that 99% of water lost is due to transpiration and
only 1% is due to evaporation (Hazlifah, 1995). In addition, veg-
etation on the type A slope may inuence the pore pressure
and suction largely through its contribution to evapotranspira-
tion and interception. A fraction of precipitation is intercepted
by the leaves of vegetation. It is retained there and a part of
it is evaporated, resulting in a drier and more stable slope. In
contrast, the low vegetation biomass (<30% of slope grass cov-
ered) of a failed slope implies a low RLD, which will presumably
lead to a low WAC by the roots. This phenomenon indicated a
reduction in the water ow continuum, which ultimately sat-
urated the soil. The high saturation level of this type of slope
(Table 3) showed this. Concomitant to this high saturation
level, the soil shear strength of the failed slope was observed
to be the lowest amongst all the slopes studied (Table 3; Fig. 5a,
c and d).
The results also show moderate range of both RLD and SWC
in the moderate vegetated slopes. This must be due to the
type and coverage of vegetation which dominate most part of
the slopes (Table 1). Moreover, the moderate root prole may
absorb water from the ground at slower rate as compared to
the extensive root prole (of type A) which ultimately resulted
in higher saturation range of about 7788% (Table 2) in mod-
erate vegetated slopes. However, these three slopes are stable
in spite of higher saturation levels.
6. Conclusion
From the ecological engineering perspective, this novel survey
in Malaysia has revealed some important baseline data:
(1) In the case of Malaysias weather conditions, the slopes
studied interestingly showed a critical SWC value at 27%;
(2) The SWC of the slopes affected the penetrability of the
soil, showing a very strong negative relationship between
these parameters (r = 0.71);
(3) RLD was found to be a highly positive related to the shear
strength of the slopes (r = 0.95);
(4) The extensive RLD of a stable slope is due to the plant
biomass density of the slope;
(5) Type and vegetation coverage indirectly enhance the water
movement from soil to the atmosphere and directly
enhance slope shear strength and ultimately inuence the
stability of the slope.
Hence, the results strongly implied that both parameters
studied, SWC and RLD, could be used as indicators of slope
stability. Therefore, the authors strongly suggest that the eval-
uation of these parameters be adapted in future assessments
of slope stability and prediction of slope failure.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Universiti Malaya for a vote-F
research grant throughout this project. The authors are also
grateful to PLUS (NorthSouth Expressway Project) Berhad for
the use of their equipment.
 e c o l o g i c a l e n g i n e e r i n g 2 8 ( 2 0 0 6 ) 9095
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