Experimental investigation on the erosion of vegetated soils by flume tests

The impact of planting deep-rooted vegetation on riverbank slopes is currently considered as a useful measure for reducing river flooding occurrence, mitigating the erosive action of water flow and increasing soil resistance, thus limiting the risk of local and shallow instability that may progressively lead to levees and river embankments collapse. An important insight into the effect of vegetation cover on soil erosion can derive from physically-based models and laboratory tests, where measurements of erosion and sediment transport rate are typically performed in experimental flumes, under controlled conditions (i.e. of flow velocity and depth). The main goal of this contribution is to discuss the performance of a testing procedure, purposely developed to simulate erosion on vegetated soils in a laboratory flume, investigating the performance of herbaceous deep rooting plants. Even in this preparatory phase, the designed method is shown to be useful in testing the effect of this nature-based solution. The work presents the execution of a series of experiments, the relevant observations and preliminary findings.