Soil aggregate stability related to soil density, root length, and mycorrhiza using site-specific Alnus incana and Melanogaster variegatus s.l.

Literature data on the effect of vegetation on the angle of internal friction Φ' of the same moraine showed similar correlations, i.e. that Φ′ of low density soil material (∼15.5 kN m−3) increased by the same amount whether by planting with White Alder or by compaction to ∼19.0 kN m−3. Based on this coincidence and from a soil mechanical perspective, soil aggregate stability is suitable to estimate the joint effect of plants and mycorrhizal fungi with respect to their contribution to soil and slope stability in the near-surface layer.