Modelling ground water response to climate input for the stabilisation of slopes by eco-engineering

Abstract

Although the stabilising potential of vegetation has long been recognised, ecoengineering attracts currently renewed attention for slope stabilisation, as it potentially is more cost-effective and sustainable than conventional engineering solutions. Slope stabilisation by eco-engineering relies on mechanical root reinforcement on the one hand and on the hydrological effects of vegetation on the other. The hydrological effects result from the influence of vegetation on different hydrological processes like infiltration, interception and evapotranspiration. The hydrological effects lead to changes in both the initial conditions and the hydrological response during a potentially triggering rainfall event. Therefore, the hydrological contribution to slope stabilisation cannot as easily be quantified as the mechanical contribution of root reinforcement that, although highly variable, relates directly and uniquely to the shearing resistance along a potential slip plane