Objective The study explores the tensile mechanical properties of single roots and the differences in shear strength of root-soil composites among different plants to provide references for optimizing the configuration of soil and water conservation plants in the gully region of the Loess Plateau. Methods Five soil and water conservation plants, including Pennisetum giganteum, were selected as research objects. The WinRHIZO Pro 2019 root analysis system was used to measure the three-dimensional root architecture parameters. Single-root tensile tests were carried out using the HLD-500 electronic push-pull dynamometer, while layered soil shear strength was evaluated using a ZJ-2 in-situ direct shear apparatus. Comparative analyses were performed between single-root tensile mechanical properties and root-soil composite shear characteristics. Results (1) Root vertical distribution patterns showed that the effective roots of P. giganteum were predominantly concentrated in the 0—40 cm soil layer, with root length density in the 0—10 cm layer reaching 1.79 cm/cm3, which was significantly 40.3%~72.8% higher than that in the deeper layers. The root parameters of the five species showed an exponential decay with increasing soil depth (R2=0.87~0.93). The dominance hierarchy of surface-layer species was as follows: Sorghum sudanense (root length density 2.41 cm/cm3)> Sorghum bicolor (2.04 cm/cm3)> Pennisetum purpureum (1.89 cm/cm3)> P. giganteum (1.79 cm/cm3)> Zea mays (1.31 cm/cm3). (2) Single-root tensile mechanical analysis revealed that S. sudanense and S. bicolor showed the maximum ultimate tensile force (120 N±10 N) due to the large proportion of thick roots (>2 mm, 85%), while P. giganteum and P. purpureum with thin roots (<2 mm, 95%) showed the best tensile strength (38.6 MPa±4.2 MPa). A significant negative correlation was observed between the tensile strength and the root diameter (p<0.01). (3) Root-soil composite shear enhancement effect: the shear strength of the P. giganteum root-soil system increased by 20.4%~33.0% compared with that of the bare soil. Under the axial load of 400 kPa, its shear strength of the 0—10 cm layer was 1.15 times that of the S. sudanense system and 1.60 times that of the Zea mays system. The shear curve conformed to the Mohr-Coulomb strength criterion, with a 41.7% increase in cohesion. Conclusion Among the five herbaceous plants, P. giganteum, P. purpureum, S. sudanense, S. bicolor, Zea mays all have excellent root systems that enhance the tensile and shear resistance of soil, making them superior soil and water conservation plants. Through the synergistic effect of the high tensile strength (7.90~41.30 MPa) of its thin-root network and the dense distribution of surface roots (RAD=0.0009), P. giganteum forms the optimal root-soil mechanical reinforcement system.
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