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Annals of Botany 78: 415-421, 1996
© 1996 Annals of Botany Company

An Experimental Investigation of the Resistance of Model Root Systems to Uprooting

A. STOKES+, J. BALL, A. H. FITTER, P. BRAIN and M. P. COUTTS

Department of Biology, University of York, York, YO1 5YW Faculty of Design, Robert Gordon University, Garthdee Rd, Aberdeen, AB9 2QB IACR–Long Ashton Research Station, Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS18 9AF The Forestry Commission, NRS, Roslin, Midlothian, EH25 9SY, UK

October 11, 1994 ; February 5, 1996

The architecture of a tree root system may influence its ability to withstand uprooting by wind loading. To determine how the root branching pattern may alter the anchorage efficiency of a tree, artificial model root systems with different topologies and branching angles were built. The root systems were embedded at various depths in wet sand and the pull-out resistance measured. A model to predict the uprooting resistance from the data collected was designed, allowing predictions of anchorage strength with regards to architecture. The dominant factors influencing pull-out resistance were the depth and length of roots in the soil. The most efficient type of branching pattern predicted by the program was one with an increased number of roots deep in the soil. The optimum branching angle most likely to resist pull-out is a vertical angle of 90° between a lateral and the main axis. The predicted mechanically optimal radial angle between a lateral branch and its daughter is between 0 and 20°. Values of branching angle are compared with those measured in real woody root systems of European larch and Sitka spruce.

Root architecture; root anchorage; pull-out resistance; windthrow; Picea sitchensis ; Larix decidua


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