Can we manipulate root system architecture to control soil erosion?

Ola, A.; Dodd, I. C.; Quinton, J. N.

doi:10.5194/soil-1-603-2015

Articles | Volume 1, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-1-603-2015

© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-1-603-2015

© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 1, issue 2

Review article

|

08 Sep 2015

Review article |

| 08 Sep 2015

Can we manipulate root system architecture to control soil erosion?

A. Ola, I. C. Dodd, and J. N. Quinton

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Apr 2023	27	35	7	69
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Oct 2024	51	14	2	67
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Dec 2024	40	28	1	69
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Feb 2025	36	13	1	50
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Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 26 Mar 2015)

Month	HTML	PDF	XML	Total
Mar 2015	23	38	14	75
Apr 2015	28	20	1	49
May 2015	14	8	2	24
Jun 2015	16	14	1	31
Jul 2015	45	34	0	79
Aug 2015	2	6	0	8
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Apr 2023	27	35	7	69
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Nov 2024	40	23	1	64
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Feb 2025	36	13	1	50
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Apr 2025	55	23	1	79
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Nov 2025	71	23	3	97
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Latest update: 19 Dec 2025

Short summary

Plant roots are crucial in soil erosion control. Moreover, some species respond to nutrient-rich patches by lateral root proliferation. At the soil surface dense mats of roots may block soil pores thereby limiting infiltration, enhancing runoff; whereas at depth local increases in shear strength may reinforce soils at the shear plane. This review considers the potential of manipulating plant roots to control erosion.