首页|Modifying soil properties with herbaceous plants for natural flood risk-reduction
Modifying soil properties with herbaceous plants for natural flood risk-reduction
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Background and aim: Nature-based solutions to engineering challenges are essential to limit climate change impacts on the urban environment. Quantitative understanding of multiple ''engineering functions'' provided by soil-plant interactions of different species is needed for species selection and re-establishing natural processes affected by urbanisation.Methods: Contrasting herbaceous species (legumes, grasses, and forbs) were selected and grown as monoculture or species mix in soil columns for a five-month growing season. Saturated hydraulic conductivity was initially tested for each column, and then the columns were monitored for three-weeks of evapotranspiration. Water loss, matric suction, and penetrometer resistance were measured. Finally, soil was tested for aggregate stability and water retention.Results: Saturated hydraulic conductivity of vegetated soil was generally larger than that of fallow soil (6.9e-6 ± 1.4e~6 m/s in fallow soil). Saturated hydraulic conductivity was significantly different between species (e.g., from 9.9e-6 ± 1.3e~6 m/s in Festuca ovina to 3.9e~5 ± 1.2e''6 m/s in Lotus corniculatus) and was negatively correlated with specific root length. The water stored in the soil was efficiently removed by plant transpiration (> 60% of evapotranspiration). Large changes in soil structure were observed in vegetated soil, with significant increases in soil strength, aggregate stability, and alteration of water retention properties. Conclusions: Multiple soil-plant interactions influence species selection for optimising nature-based solutions (e. g., bioretention barriers). Substantial scope exists to choose species mixes to manipulate soil hydro-mechanical properties. Enhanced biodiversity did not compromise the engineering services of nature-based solutions (e.g., water removal), and may have multiple benefits.
BioretentionFlood mitigationHerbaceous speciesNature-based solutionsSoil hydrologySoil-plant interactionsRoot systems
D. Boldrin、J.A. Knappett、A.K. Leung
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The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK
School of Science and Engineering, University of Dundee, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
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