http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/index.asp 129 editor@iaeme.com International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET) Volume 7, Issue 3, May–June 2016, pp. 129–135, Article ID: IJCIET_07_03_013 Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=7&IType=3 Journal Impact Factor (2016): 9.7820 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com ISSN Print: 0976-6308 and ISSN Online: 0976-6316 © IAEME Publication RELATING UPROOTING RESISTANCE TO STEM BASAL DIAMETERS OF PLANTS FOR EROSION MITIGATION Nwoke, H.U., Dike, B.U., Nwite, S.A., Nwakwasi, N.L. Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Owerri. P.M.B 1526 Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. ABSTRACT The strength with which a plant resists uprooting from erosion is influenced by a number of morphological traits including the stem basal diameter. The objective of this study is carry out in-situ lateral uprooting tests for various plant species and develop models that relate uprooting resistance to plant stem basal diameter. The study area is the erosion prone land of Nguzu Edda in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Several lateral uprooting tests were carried out to determine the uprooting forces for twelve plant species. The stem basal diameters of the plants were also measured. Linear, quadratic and cubic regression models were used in data analysis. The results showed that maximum uprooting force has a linear relationship with stem basal diameter with coefficients of determination ranging from 0.900 to 0.999. The r 2 value was 0.900 for Saccharum officinarum, 0.975 for chrysopogon zizanioides and 0.980 for paspalum notatum while other plants studied had r 2 values ranging from 0.996 to 0.999. The p-values for all species using linear regression were less than 0.05 hence the model results are significant at 95% confidence level for all plant species studied Key words: Lateral Uprooting, Basal Diameter, Uprooting Force, Erosion, Statistical Analysis. Cite this Article: Nwoke, H.U., Dike, B.U., Nwite, S.A., Nwakwasi, N.L., Relating uprooting Resistance to Stem Basal Diameters of Plants for Erosion Mitigation, International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 7(3), 2016, pp. 129–135. http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=7&IType=3