![\"Mycorrhizal](\"https:\/\/blogs.agu.org\/landslideblog\/files\/2020\/10\/20_10-NZ-1a.jpg\")
Widespread shallow landslides on slopes in New Zealand that have been deforested.<\/p><\/div>\n
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There is an interesting piece on the Waldwissen.net website about the complexity of this relationship.<\/a>\u00a0 This is not a new article – it was published in 2017 – but it points out an issue that I had not considered previously.\u00a0 The article comes out of a research project undertaken in Switzerland that looked at the ways in which vegetation influences slope stability.\u00a0 One finding was that plant diversity plays a key role:<\/p>\n “Forests containing a wealth of species, a diverse root structure and trees of various heights and ages are especially effective in increasing soil stability. The study also showed that slopes with ideal vegetative cover and root mass can remain stable up to 5\u00b0 steeper than bare slopes.”<\/em><\/p>\n But the more interesting insight is that Mycorrhizal fungi can also play a key role:<\/p>\n “Mycorrhizal fungi, which live in a symbiotic relationship with plants and trees, can improve the stabilising effect of the vegetation.”<\/em><\/p>\n The term mycorrhizal does not refer to a type of fungus, but rather to the symbiotic relationship between different types of fungi and plants.\u00a0 The concept is that this relationship is key determinant of the ways that plants influence soil structure and texture, and thus the mechanical behaviour of the soil.\u00a0 The take home message is that improvements in slope stability can be optimised if both the plants and their associated fungi are carefully nurtured.<\/p>\n .<\/p>\nQuickslide 1: The village of Gardenstown in Scotland is being affected by a landslide<\/h4>\n