Experiments and discussions on the shear strength of root-soil complexes after phytoremediation of ionic rare earth tailings soils
- 1Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Safe and Efficient Mining of Rare Metal Resources
Abstract
Herbaceous vegetation roots play a crucial role in improving soil shear strength during ecological restoration. This study investigates the shear strength characteristics of root-soil complexes in ionic rare earth tailings under the influence of various herbaceous plants and evaluates the applicability of the shear strength increment coefficient within the Wu-Waldron Model (WWM). By determining the physical parameters of soil samples and root system characteristics, this study compared actual shear strength increments obtained via direct shear and root tension tests against theoretical increments. The results indicate that the experimentally obtained shear strength increment of the root-soil complex is significantly higher than the value calculated using the standard WWM model. Root reinforcement is primarily concentrated in the 0–10 cm soil layer, with shear strength decreasing as depth increases. The order of shear strength increments for different vegetation types within the same soil layer is: Vetiveria zizanioides > Paspalum notatum Flüggé > Cynodon dactylon (L.) > Setaria viridis. The stress increment correction coefficient for the WWM model applied to these tailings ranged from 1.66 to 8.04. The WWM coefficients are relatively high. Its value range may be influenced by factors such as the physical properties of rare earth tailings, the calculation of the tensile strength spectrum, variations in matric suction, and assumptions regarding root failure. The coefficients derived in this study clarify the influence of different roots on shear strength and provide a valuable reference for the selection and configuration of vegetation in the reclamation of ionic rare earth tailings.
Related
- A Spectrum of Care: The Failings of Binary Code Status Discussions
- Combined Use of Topic-Analysis and LLMs on Online Peer-to-Peer Medicaid Discussions to Detect the Impact of HR1 on Individuals Medicaid Experience Across The US
- The collective turing test: large language models can generate realistic multi-user discussions
- PCOS discussions on a Turkish online forum: a qualitative netnographic study of concerns, peer advice, and information gaps
- Peri-procedural code status discussions before bronchoscopy: A cross-sectional survey of German and Swiss pulmonologists
BibTeX
@article{lin2026experiments,
title = {{Experiments and discussions on the shear strength of root-soil complexes after phytoremediation of ionic rare earth tailings soils}},
author = {Shengjie Lin and Qi Shuai and Jiteng Mao and Fei Ou and Wen Zhong},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-62269-w},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-62269-w},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Experiments and discussions on the shear strength of root-soil complexes after phytoremediation of ionic rare earth tailings soils
AU - Shengjie Lin
AU - Qi Shuai
AU - Jiteng Mao
AU - Fei Ou
AU - Wen Zhong
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-62269-w
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-62269-w
AB - Herbaceous vegetation roots play a crucial role in improving soil shear strength during ecological restoration. This study investigates the shear strength characteristics of root-soil complexes in ionic rare earth tailings under the influence of various herbaceous plants and evaluates the applicability of the shear strength increment coefficient within the Wu-Waldron Model (WWM). By determining the physical parameters of soil samples and root system characteristics, this study compared actual shear strength increments obtained via direct shear and root tension tests against theoretical increments. The results indicate that the experimentally obtained shear strength increment of the root-soil complex is significantly higher than the value calculated using the standard WWM model. Root reinforcement is primarily concentrated in the 0–10 cm soil layer, with shear strength decreasing as depth increases. The order of shear strength increments for different vegetation types within the same soil layer is: Vetiveria zizanioides > Paspalum notatum Flüggé > Cynodon dactylon (L.) > Setaria viridis. The stress increment correction coefficient for the WWM model applied to these tailings ranged from 1.66 to 8.04. The WWM coefficients are relatively high. Its value range may be influenced by factors such as the physical properties of rare earth tailings, the calculation of the tensile strength spectrum, variations in matric suction, and assumptions regarding root failure. The coefficients derived in this study clarify the influence of different roots on shear strength and provide a valuable reference for the selection and configuration of vegetation in the reclamation of ionic rare earth tailings.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -