Review on Types of Root Failures in Shallow Landslides

Nowadays the interest of geotechnical engineers for green solutions is being developed and the use of vegetation as a reinforcement to improve slope stability is growing. The sliding surface of shallow landslides tends to not exceed 1.5–2 m depth, and as a consequence it can be crossed by roots that, in this case, work as a stabilizing measure. Therefore, the study of the soil-roots interaction is necessary to quantify the contribution of vegetation to the stability of shallow landslides. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the root failure mechanisms that can occur along the sliding surface and of the forces applied by roots, in order to evaluate the safety factor of a reinforced slope. Several prevailing stress states occur along a shallow landslide failure surface: tension stress at the slide crest, shear stresses along the base of the unstable soil layer and passive earth pressures at the slope toe. Some considerations are also made regarding acceptable simplifications, in terms of root geometry and soil-root friction strength, that are currently assumed in the literature.