Assessment of Vegetation Cover and Rainfall Infiltration Effects on Slope Stability

Tao, G; Guo, L; Xiao, H; Chen, Q; Nimbalkar, S; Feng, S; Wu, Z

Assessment of Vegetation Cover and Rainfall Infiltration Effects on Slope Stability

Tao, G Guo, L Xiao, H Chen, Q Nimbalkar, S

Feng, S Wu, Z

Permalink

Publisher:: MDPI
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Applied Sciences Switzerland, 2025, 15, (17)
Issue Date:: 2025-09-01

Open Access

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Open Access

This item is open access.

Adobe PDF

Download Published versionAdobe PDF (17.51 MB)

View on publisher's site

View statistics

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Tao, G
dc.contributor.author	Guo, L
dc.contributor.author	Xiao, H
dc.contributor.author	Chen, Q
dc.contributor.author	Nimbalkar, S https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1538-3396
dc.contributor.author	Feng, S
dc.contributor.author	Wu, Z
dc.date.accessioned	2026-01-28T02:12:30Z
dc.date.available	2026-01-28T02:12:30Z
dc.date.issued	2025-09-01
dc.identifier.citation	Applied Sciences Switzerland, 2025, 15, (17)
dc.identifier.issn	2076-3417
dc.identifier.issn	2076-3417
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/192468
dc.description.abstract	Investigating rainfall infiltration mechanisms and slope stability dynamics under varying vegetation cover conditions is essential for advancing ecological slope protection methodologies. This research focuses on large-scale outdoor slope models, with the objective of monitoring soil moisture variations in real-time during rainfall events on four types of slopes: bare, herbaceous, shrub, and mixed herb–shrub planting. Combining direct shear tests for unsaturated soil with numerical simulations, and considering the weakening effect of water on shear strength, this study analyzes slope stability. The findings reveal significant spatial variations in rainfall infiltration rates, with maximum values recorded at a burial depth of 0.2 m, declining as the burial depth increases. Different types of vegetation have distinct impacts on slope infiltration patterns: herbaceous increases cumulative infiltration by 21.32%, while shrub reduces it by 61.06%. The numerically simulated moisture content values demonstrate strong congruence with field-measured data. Compared with monoculture herbaceous or shrub root systems, the mixed herb–shrub root system exhibits the most significant enhancement effects on shear strength parameters. Under high water content conditions, root systems demonstrate substantially greater improvement in cohesion than in internal friction angle. Before rainfall, shrub vegetation contributed the most significant improvement to the safety factor, increasing it from 2.766 to 3.046, followed by herbaceous and mixed herb–shrub vegetation, which raised it to 2.81 and 2.948. After rainfall, mixed herb–shrub vegetation demonstrated the greatest enhancement of the safety factor, elevating it from 1.139 to 1.361, followed by herbaceous and shrub vegetation, which increased it to 1.192 and 1.275. The study offers preliminary insights and a scientific basis for the specific conditions tested for selecting and optimizing eco-friendly slope protection measures.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	MDPI
dc.relation.ispartof	Applied Sciences Switzerland
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3390/app15179831
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.title	Assessment of Vegetation Cover and Rainfall Infiltration Effects on Slope Stability
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	15
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups/Transport Research Centre (TRC)
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups/Centre for Advanced Modelling and Geospatial lnformation Systems (CAMGIS)
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups/Centre for Built Infrastructure Resilience (CBIR)
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2026-01-28T02:12:28Z
pubs.issue	17
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	15
utslib.citation.issue	17

Abstract:

Investigating rainfall infiltration mechanisms and slope stability dynamics under varying vegetation cover conditions is essential for advancing ecological slope protection methodologies. This research focuses on large-scale outdoor slope models, with the objective of monitoring soil moisture variations in real-time during rainfall events on four types of slopes: bare, herbaceous, shrub, and mixed herb–shrub planting. Combining direct shear tests for unsaturated soil with numerical simulations, and considering the weakening effect of water on shear strength, this study analyzes slope stability. The findings reveal significant spatial variations in rainfall infiltration rates, with maximum values recorded at a burial depth of 0.2 m, declining as the burial depth increases. Different types of vegetation have distinct impacts on slope infiltration patterns: herbaceous increases cumulative infiltration by 21.32%, while shrub reduces it by 61.06%. The numerically simulated moisture content values demonstrate strong congruence with field-measured data. Compared with monoculture herbaceous or shrub root systems, the mixed herb–shrub root system exhibits the most significant enhancement effects on shear strength parameters. Under high water content conditions, root systems demonstrate substantially greater improvement in cohesion than in internal friction angle. Before rainfall, shrub vegetation contributed the most significant improvement to the safety factor, increasing it from 2.766 to 3.046, followed by herbaceous and mixed herb–shrub vegetation, which raised it to 2.81 and 2.948. After rainfall, mixed herb–shrub vegetation demonstrated the greatest enhancement of the safety factor, elevating it from 1.139 to 1.361, followed by herbaceous and shrub vegetation, which increased it to 1.192 and 1.275. The study offers preliminary insights and a scientific basis for the specific conditions tested for selecting and optimizing eco-friendly slope protection measures.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/192468