Soil Suction in Vegetated Soils: The Effects of Plant Roots and Evapotranspiration-A Review

Abstract

Soil suction is the ability of soil to hold water against gravity and other external forces. It is a vital aspect of unsaturated soil mechanics, playing a key role in how soil holds water and maintains its strength and stability. This review describes the significance of soil suction, its measurement techniques such as the filter paper method and the combined effects of vegetation, plant roots and microbial processes on suction. Vegetation actively enhances or reduces soil suction via root water uptake and evapotranspiration, having an overall effect on slope stability, strength of soil and hydrological activity. This review synthesizes existing research about the effect of vegetation, roots and evapotranspiration driven soil suction while underscoring major causes and mechanisms. Various experimental and field studies analyze how different species of plants and root systems influence the process of soil-water interactions. It highlights the necessity of interdisciplinary research to develop sustainable, nature-based strategies for enhancing soil functionality and resilience.

Keywords:Soil suction; Unsaturated soil mechanics; Matric suction; Microbes; Plant extraction methods

Abbreviations: ETr: Evapotranspiration; Tr: Transpiration