ABSTRACT
Soil erosion and shallow landslides are the most common forms of instability encountered during the life cycle of earthworks. It is generally well established that vegetation can contribute towards minimization of the risks associated with instability on earthworks slopes, although holistic consideration of geo-environmental conditions and connection with hydro-meteorological hazards is still lacking. The aim of this study is to investigate the link between the vegetation planted on earthwork slopes and the likelihood of failure of the earthwork in form of erosion or shallow landslide. To achieve this aim, experiments on vegetated and fallow earthwork slopes in contrasting geo-climatic conditions were carried out. These included setting up, monitoring, sampling and testing under simulated rainfall and dry conditions. The results of this study will help designers, engineers, land use planners, and landscape architects in reaching decisions that consider multi-disciplinary approach to earthwork design and construction.
