Root system traits of Mahonia aquifolium and its potential use in soil reinforcement in mountain horticultural practices

The structural changes of Hungarian agriculture in 1989 led to many mountain horticultural farms being abandoned. These structural changes have modified land use patterns which often resulted in decreasing slope stability in mountainous farms. Mahonia aquifolium has been cultivated in Hungary for over half a century for ornamental purposes; however its possible application in shallow slope stabilization has not been discussed. This paper presents the first results on the root morphology, and root tensile strength of M. aquifolium and determines its efficiency for soil protection in horticultural farming practice. Measurements were carried out on M. aquifolium seedlings from cultivated (C) and non-cultivated (NC) soil conditions. The C and NC specimens were measured and compared for root area ratio (RAR) and root tensile strength (TR). These results were then compared with other species for which data was available. Results showed that M. aquifolium plants from C soil conditions had a significantly higher mean RAR with depth than M. aquifolium plants from NC soil conditions. The mean TR results showed no significant difference between M. aquifolium plants from C and NC environments. The study also showed that M. aquifolium's root structure is comparable as soil protection with the other species although a higher degree of soil reinforcement by roots was obtained with C M. aquifolium specimens. M. aquifolium roots could represent effective soil protection. Moreover the plant is well suited to the demands of small-scale horticultural farm practices under mountainous conditions.