Study on the relationship between herbaceous slope resistivity and soil physical and mechanical properties in loess areas

In order to study the quantitative relationship between the resistivity of different types of herbaceous slope soils and their physical and mechanical properties in alpine arid and semi-arid loess areas, an experiment was carried out in a self-constructed experimental area in Changling Gully watershed of Xining Basin. The parameters of soil physical and mechanical properties are obtained by carrying out slope soil density, water content and straight shear tests on rooted and unrooted soil. Furthermore, 2D Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) was used to establish the quantitative relationship between the physical and mechanical property indexes of different slope soils and soil resistivity. The results of this study show that 2D ERT is capable of nondestructively detecting the root distribution characteristics of herbaceous plants. A fitting equation is found between the physical and mechanical properties of the slope soil and resistivity (the goodness of fit R2 is 0.48~0.77), which provides a theoretical basis and practical guidance for the use of plants to effectively prevent and control soil erosion, shallow landslides, and other disasters in the study area and its surroundings.