Suitability of Eugenia Oleina in Tropical Slope as Bio-anchorage System
Youventharan Duraisamy
1,a*
, Rokiah Othman
1,b
, Mohd Arif Sulaiman
1,c
,
Ramadhansyah Putra Jaya
1,d
and Siti Noor Linda Taib
2,e
1
Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Faculty of Civil Engineering Technology, Pahang, 26300, Malaysia
2
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Department of Civil Engineering, Kuching, 94300, Malaysia
a
youventharan@ump.edu.my,
b
rokiah@ump.edu.my,
c
mdarif@ump.edu.my,
d
ramadhansyah@ump.edu.my,
e
tlinda@unimas.my
Keywords: Bio-anchorage system, Direct shear test, Pullout test, Root tensile, Slope stability,
Tropical residual soil.
Abstract. Landslide is a major geological hazard and poses high risk to most countries in the tropical
regions. This problem is more severe in places like Malaysia where residual soil is abundant. High
temperature and humidity will easily disintegrate soil particles and therefore loosen the bonding
between the soil and the root system. The main goal is to elucidate the interaction mechanism of bio-
inspired soil anchorage system to enhance bonding between residual soil matrix in tropical region.
Hence, this research aims to establish correlation between the pattern of root and its tensile strength
to reinforce tropical residual slope. Basic soil property tests and classification protocols were carried
out in the laboratory. Root tensile test results from the laboratory was correlated with field pull-out
test data. Slope stability in the area where the plant roots were introduced have been disturbed. The
factor of safety of slope with bio-anchorage system was one third of the slope with grass. The findings
provide the best solution from the bioinspired soil anchorage system for tropical slope. Hence, the
plant species that works well in residual soil for the purpose of reinforcing tropical slope was
identified and recommended. As a result, many serious landslides and slope failures in residual soil
could be avoided in the tropical region. Therefore, slope stabilization technique such as the bio-
inspired soil anchorage system once established can reduce the dependency on conventional concrete
wall.
Introduction
For many decades, researchers have been continuously searching for the right balance in eco-
system and modernization. One good example is, Demenois et al. [1] examined how five distinct
tropical plant communities modified soil aggregate stability along a successional vegetation gradient
on a Ferralsol soil in New Caledonia. This study demonstrated that the presence of particular plants,
Costularia arundinacea, Garcinia amplexicaulis and Myodocarpus angustialatus generally improved
soil aggregate stability and these species could be considered for ecological restoration on Ferralsols.
Ettbeb et al. [2] and Bordoloi et al. [3] summarized on how the plant communities significantly
increase aggregate stability in the early stages of succession. Unfortunately, none of these plants are
commonly used in Malaysia and in the tropical region.
Apart from that, Jourgholami et al. [4] examined the role of fibrous roots and tap roots in stabilizing
soils against erosion due to concentrated flows of surface runoff. The researcher found that the
effectiveness of plant roots in controlling concentrated flow erosion rates depended on the apparent
soil cohesion and that fine root systems were most effective in preventing flow erosion in non-
cohesive soils while tap root systems were most effective in cohesive soils. Similarly, a laboratory
experiment was conducted by Oorthuis et al. [5] to find the relationship between the vegetation
parameters and thermos hydraulic behaviour of soil. These are the results that practitioners will find
extremely useful in efforts to mitigate erosion in these two soil types. However, findings from these
papers are more to temperate region and will not be useful for local applications especially in
Malaysia.
Construction Technologies and Architecture Submitted: 2022-08-29
ISSN: 2674-1237, Vol. 4, pp 139-149 Revised: 2022-11-26
© 2023 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland Accepted: 2022-11-27
Online: 2023-03-31
All rights reserved. No part of contents of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of Trans
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