Risk-based framework accounting for the effects of vegetation in geotechnical engineering

Eco-engineering techniques comprise the use of vegetation, either alone or in combination with traditional civil engineering structures, for control of soil erosion and shallow landslides. The main perceived disadvantage in the design of these solutions is often listed as the uncertainty, and thus, hazards and risks related to the living material. In order to account and mitigate for these uncertainties, an approach is proposed where a number of novel methods aimed at enhancement of the understanding of the mechanisms of soil-root reinforcement are presented. These methods range from fundamental assessment of suction stress induced by the vegetation in the design phase, through assessment of root growth on slopes during construction and operation, to the assessment of long-term slope stability and sustainability of the solution implemented. The results of this study show that multidisciplinary knowledge of the risks and processes occurring at different project stages as well as input from relevant disciplines are needed in order to inform the geotechnical design and construction.