Accepted Manuscript

Experimental study on gravitational erosion process of vegetation

slope under freeze–thaw

Dahu Rui, Mingchang Ji, Dai Nakamur, Teruyuki Suzuki

PII: S0165-232X(17)30099-X
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.coldregions.2018.03.020
Reference: COLTEC 2560
To appear in: Cold Regions Science and Technology
Received date: 28 February 2017
Revised date: 25 January 2018
Accepted date: 22 March 2018

Please cite this article as: Dahu Rui, Mingchang Ji, Dai Nakamur, Teruyuki Suzuki
, Experimental study on gravitational erosion process of vegetation slope under
freeze–thaw. The address for the corresponding author was captured as affiliation for all
authors. Please check if appropriate. Coltec(2017), doi:10.1016/j.coldregions.2018.03.020

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Experimental study on gravitational erosion process of vegetation slope

under freeze–thaw

Dahu Ruia,b, Mingchang Jia , Dai Nakamurc, Teruyuki Suzukic

a
School of Civil Eng., Henan Polytechnic Univ., Jiaozuo, Henan 454000, China

b
State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute,

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Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China

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c
Department of Civil and Environment Engineering, Kitami Institute of Technology, 165 Koencho, Kitami, Hokkaido 0908507,

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Japan
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Abstract

Freeze–thaw is the ma jor factor in gra vi tational erosion creep of slopes in cold regi ons , but gra vi tati onal erosion is

influenced rema rkabl y by vegeta tion cover. In order to inves tiga te the phenomenon of the gra vi ta tional erosion

process of vegeta tion slopes under freeze–thaw in seasonall y frozen soil regions , on-site freeze–thaw tes ts of

di fferent vegeta tion slopes were conducted in the frozen soil tes ting ground of Ki tami Ins titute of Technology (KIT,

Hokkaido, Japan). Slope vegeta tion is di vided into an external-soil spra y seeding section and a turfed section

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a ccording to its method of forma tion. Through field tes ts of four cycles , the slope temperature, fros t depth, amount

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of fros t-hea ve, and a mount of movement were observed dynami call y in real-time, initiall y revealing the regula rity of

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the gra vi ta tional erosion process of the vegeta tion slope, whi ch provided a s cientifi c basis for slope s tability control in

cold regions . The experimental results show tha t the gra vi ta tional erosion of the slope is a process of i rreversible
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gradual evolution, tha t the extent of erosion has a periodi cal fluctua tion in time, tha t the ta rget point of the slope
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surfa ce moves in a ja gged tra jectory down the slope yea r a fter yea r, and tha t the ma ximum values of the amount of

movement of the external-soil spra y seeding section and the turfed section are –13.1 a nd –6.1 cm, respecti vel y, a fter
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four freeze–thaw cycles . The spa ce dis tribution of the slope surface has inhomogenei ty. The di fference in

tempera ture and wa ter content of ea ch pa rt of the slope surface is the main reason why the freezing front of the
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slope is not pa rallel to the slope surfa ce. The amount of fros t-hea ve of the slope toe was grea ter than tha t of the

slope crest, whi ch ca used upwa rd displa cement along the slope during ea rl y freezi ng. The movement of the slope is
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closel y related to the development of vegeta tion, and the hea t insula tion and reinforcement of vegeta tion cover
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effecti vel y res train the displacement of the slope’s shallow s oil. The resul ts of this s tudy ha ve a certain si gnifi cance in

the prevention and treatment of shallow slope sliding in cold regions.

Key Words: Freeze–thaw; Vegetation slope; Gravitational erosion; Frost-heave amount; Movement amount
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1. Introduction

In seasonally frozen regions, the soil undergoes cyclic freeze–thaw cycles fro m year to year. According to an

investigation in Hokkaido, Japan, soil freezing and thawing account for 40% of slope slide collapse accidents (Noto et

al., 1985). The stability of the s lope is direct ly related to the soil erosion and landscape coordination along the road,

directly o r indirect ly affects the use of the road function and service life, and even endangers the lives of people (Lai et

al., 2013).

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The mechanism o f freeze–thaw collapse of soil-cutting slopes includes two aspects: one is gravity erosion creep

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under the action of freeze–thaw cycles and the other is the landslide bed formed by the descent of the freezing front.

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(1) Gravitational erosion creep under freeze–thaw cycles: Gravitational erosion is the process of deformat ion,

destruction, movement, and accumulat ion of rock mass on the slope under the action of gravity (Pandey et al.,
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2016). It is a frequent and widespread geomorphological phenomenon, whether in mountainous or urban areas.
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It is the mass failure on a steep slope, triggered by self-weight. Erosion due to gravitational force occurs under

the combined in fluence of defin ite hydrologic, geologic, and topograph ic conditions (Shroder and Bishop, 1998;
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Wang et al., 2014; Xu et al., 2015). Gravitational erosion has complex causes and the factors influencing it are

numerous, but the freeze–thaw effect is the main factor causing gravitational erosion creep in the cold regions
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(Niu et al., 2011). When slopes in cold regions are subjected to the alternating freeze–thaw process, the soil

particles or rock debris gradually change fro m volu metric expansion to a contracted state. During expansion, the
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soil particles rise perpendicular to the slope, and when they shrink, they fall in the direction of gravity. Each
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time the expansion and contraction process occurs, the soil part icles or rock debris of the slope move up and

down a short distance fro m the original location. Th is phenomenon is called frost creep (Hori et al., 1987; Li et

al., 2015; Li et al., 2016).

(2) The landslide bed formed by the freezing front descending: In the spring, frozen soil on the slope surface

gradually melts fro m the surface and the inside, and the freezing front descends gradually. In this process, above

the freezing front, saturation or high water content of the thawed soil body occurs (the main source of water is
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fro m the snow melt above the slope and the melting of ice in the soil), while the lower part consists of

impermeab le fro zen soil. The frozen soil layer becomes a planar slide bed with a single slope. The shear strength

and frict ion of the soil at the interface of freezing and thawing decrease, and under certain conditions, shallow

collapse occurs along the interface.

Most of the research on freeze-thaw collapse in co ld regions concentrates on the critical depth and the strength of

frozen -thawed interface between the fro zen soil and the melting soil (Niu et al., 2012), the main causes and influencing

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factors of the slide collapse of the cutting slope in cold regions are put forward，the function of the landslide bed

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formed by the descending of the freezing front is analysed, especially the concept, genesis, distribution characteristics

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and the influence on the slope stability of the landslide bed are expounded in detail. Based on this, the mechanical

model of the stability of the cutting soil slope in the co ld region s is established. However, there is little research on the
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protection of slope failure caused by gravity erosion under the action of freeze-thaw. Therefore, the basic research on
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the gravity erosion creep of vegetation slope under the action of freeze-thaw is carried out in this paper.

Frost action involves complicated heat and mass transfer as well as frost deformation in the ground subjected to
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seasonal freeze–thaw cycles (Li et al., 2015; Qiang et al., 2016). As shown in Fig. 1, during frost heave, the soil

particles of the slope are uplifted perpendicular to the slope surface (freezing front) and melt downwards in the direct ion
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of gravity. In the process of falling, bes ides the influence of gravity, it is also influenced by the tensile strength of the

vegetation root system and the inclination angle of the slope Although the amount of movement of soil particles is very
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small in each expansion and contraction process and therefore will not cause slope failure , under the periodic freeze–
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thaw cycles, the cumulative amount of displacement and migration may result in the accumulat ion of soil at the slope

toe, making the slope gentler, and the soil density is reduced. The effective stress of the slope is reduced under the

combined action of the melting ice caused by rising temperatures and rainfall and other factors. Under the action of

gravity, part or all of the soil slides down to collapse (Liu et al., 2011).
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Slo Slo
pe pe
be aft
for er
ef fr
ree eez

t
un
zin ing

mo
g

ea

Thaw settlement
eav
Fre

Direction of gravity
ezi

st h
ng

Fro
fro
nt

Am
ou
nt
of
mo
v em
en

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t
¦È

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Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of gravitational erosion of a slope under freeze–thaw.

Previous studies have shown that the mechanical and physical p roperties of soil can be changed during the freeze–

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thaw process, which may negatively affect the slope function (Graham and Au, 1985; Simonsen and Isacsson, 2001;
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Yarbasi et al., 2007; Zaimoglu, 2010; Aubert and Gasc Barb ier, 2012; Olgun, 2013; Cu i et al., 2014). In studies of

gravitational erosion under freeze–thaw, Higashi et al. measured the amount of movement in the process of frozen soil
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creep in the laboratory at a cooling rate at 2.5 °C/day and found that the amount of movement of the soil particles was

proportional to the square of the tangent slope angle (Higashi et al., 1971; Higashi et al., 1972). In a study of the
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Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Fenghuoshan area involving observations of in situ creep made over a period of three years,
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Wang et al. (1995) showed that creep occurred main ly in winter and summer, and the quantity of creep decreased with
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increasing depth, but at the same depth, creep increased with increases of the ambient temperature of the frozen soil,
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and showed a significant vertical d isplacement upward along the slope in winter. Taketa et al. (1999) investigated
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mould damage in a cutting slope revet ment in Hokkaido and found that a nu mber of slope protection moulds moved

down the slope under the effect of freeze–thaw and lost their function.

Studies of the stability of permafrost slopes appeared earlier (Tarr, 1897; McRoberts et al., 1974; Clark, 1988) but

were mainly done on permafrost region (Wang et al., 1995; Li et al., 2002; Niu et al., 2002). There is difference

between instability in seasonally fro zen regions and instability in permafrost, mainly due to the existence of the

permafrost table in permafrost region, and thereby result in the difference in water content and pore water pressure.
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Most of the studies on freeze-thaw erosion research used of the indoor model tests or field observations to study the

movement of soil part icles on the slope. Because of the difficulty of carrying out controlled experiments in the field and

the high heterogeneity of soil, there are few in situ studies. Research using in situ tests will help to deepen the

understanding of the process of change of the slope surface morphology and the change law of slope slide and will

provide a scientific basis for slope stability control in seasonally fro zen soil areas. This paper presents a novel method

of estimating the extent of gravitational erosion in cold regions. The amount of frost-heave and the amount of

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movement in Fig. 1 are taken as the evaluation indexes of g ravitational erosion of the slope, and the gravitational

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erosion law of the slope under the action of freeze–thaw is exp lored by in situ tests. According to the results of

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observations of slope temperature, frost depth, amount of frost-heave, and amount of movement during four freeze–

thaw cycles, the grav itational erosion characteristics of the slope under freeze–thaw are analysed and discussed and the
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actual trajectory of movement of the slope surface is described.
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2. Outline of the test slope

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2.1. Composition of the slope surface

The test was carried out at the frozen soil test site of Kitami Institute of Technology (KIT, Hokkaido, Japan). Figure 2
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shows a schematic diagram o f the test slope, which has a slope length of 4 m, section width of 3 m, and slope

inclination of about 40°. In order to ensure that the adjacent sections are not affected by each other, they are separated
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using 10-cm-thick EPS insulation board buried at a depth of 40 cm. The slope is divided into an external-soil spray
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seeding section and a turfed section. The external-soil spray seeding section comprises grass seed, fertilizer, water-

retaining agent, soil, organic matter, stabilizer, and other co mponents and is fully mixed using a jet spray equably

according to the design thickness of the slope protection surface to form a uniform and stable soil slope with green

protection. Turf revetment is employed to foster robust turf (with specifications of a width of 30 cm and length of 100

cm) laid on a fixed slope, enabling a fast green slope reinforcement function. The turf used in the experiment is a

mixtu re of four kinds of gramineous species that are commonly used in landscape greening, with well-developed root
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systems and low stems and leaves, namely drought-resistant tall fescue, hard fescue, Kentucky bluegrass , and creeping

stock, which have rapid growth and cold-resistant features (Ma et al., 2009; Wen et al., 2010).

Thermocouple sensor Insulation board

Thickness 10cm, depth40cm
0cm

10
50cm

0c
m
100cm

D
10
150cm

at
0c

um
m
200cm

lin
e
10
250cm
40

Fixed point

0c
0c

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m
m

250cm
Frost depth meter 300cm

10
0c
350cm

m
Thermocouple sensor
400cm
Target point

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(frost heave amount,amount of movement)

3000mm 3000mm
Turfed section External-soil spary seeding section

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Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the test slope.

Table 1 The basic properties of the test slope

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ρs/ (g/cm３) 2.51
Gravel (%) 5.0
Sand (%) 53.0
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Silt (%) 22.0

Grain size distribution
Clay (%) 5.0
Cu 37.1
Cc , 1.7
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Ｗopt (%) 29
Compaction test
ρdmax (g/cm３) 1.3
Frost-heave test Frost-heave rate (mm/h) 0.7
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The slope surface soil mat rix is pozzo lanic clay soil, with the characteristics of strong frost-heave and basic indicators
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as shown in Table 1. The frost-heave determination test was carried out in accordance with the current Jap anese
Geotechnical Society “Test Method for Frost Heave Prediction o f Soils ” (JGS 0171-2009) standard (Japanese
Geotechnical Society, 2009). As shown in Fig. 3, lo wer end (Tc) → upper end (Tw) freezing is used with the upper end
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(Tw) water supply mode, and the size of the specimen is a diameter of 100 mm and a height of 50 mm. The upper end
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temperature of the specimen is set as 0 °C, and the lower end is cooled by super-cooling (thermal shock method). The
temperature of the lower end is lowered by about 0.1 °C/h, and the freezing rate is controlled within 1.0– 2.0 mm/h
during the cooling process. When the freezing front reaches the upper end (Tw), the cooling is finished, and the frost-
heave rate (Uh = ΔH/ΔT) is obtained from the variat ion curve of the amount of frost-heave. The frost-heave rate of the
slope is 0.7 mm/h, which is judged as strong frost-heave soil according to the criterion(The detailed criteria are as
follows: the frost-heave rate is greater than 0.3 mm / h for strong frost-heave soil, less than 0.1 mm / h for weak frost-
heave soil, and 0.1-0.3 mm / h for medium frost-heave soil).
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P=10kPa

Displacement

Temperature Water supply/dranage

control bath

Acrylic cell Water supply/dranage

Top cooling
Porous plate plate (Tw)

Temperature sensor
Specimen

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Porous metal plate H=50mm,D=100
Electronic Balance

Bottom cooling Temperature

plate (Tc) control bath

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(a) Frost-heave test apparatus

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(b) Computation of frost-heave rate Uh

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Fig. 3. Test method for frost susceptibility of soil.

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Lso ¦ ¤L
si
Datum line Target point

¦ ¤L
Ho s

Slope after freezed(thawed)

Hi

Frozen depth meter

Fixed point
¦3
Õ0 round steel

Wrapper tube
Target point ¦Õ
75PVC tube

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¦ ¤
H:Frost-heave amount(Ho-Hi)
¦ ¤Ls:Amount of movement(Lsi-Lso)
Ho:initial frozen heave amount

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Lso:Initial amount of movement

Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of measurement method.

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Slope top

Slope middle Turfed section

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Slope bottom
Target point
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External-soil spray seeding section

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Fig. 5. Setting of target points.

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2.2. Observation method

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In this study, the change of soil on the slope surface was monitored in real time by using fixed points embedded in the

slope top, slope toe, and target points of the slope. The method of measuring the trajectory of the slope is shown in Fig.

4, and the trajectories of the upper, middle, and lower target points of the slope are measured twice a week on the basis

of a thin steel wire connecting the top of the slope and the fixed po int of the slope toe, that is, the amount of frost-heave

perpendicular to the slope surface and the amount of movement parallel to the slope surface. As shown in Fig. 5, the

target point setting method comprises a perforated steel plate (200 mm * 200 mm * 3 mm) and a circular steel column
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(diameter: 10 mm) perpendicular to the substrate and is provided on the upper, middle , and lower portions of the slope

surface (turf root). The target point measurement error caused by freeze–thaw o f the slope is co mpensated by the use of

changes in steel colu mn angle. Slope surface temperature and frost depth are read by the thermocouple embedded in the

slope and a homemade frost depth meter using 0.03% methylene blue solution, respectively.

2.3 Water content of slope

During the process of freezing, the water gathers at the freezing front of the shallow slope, and the local water content

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of the slope is increased and changes the physical and mechanical properties of the soil in the process of melting (Zhao

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et al., 2016). Therefo re, find ing out the changes in the water content of the slope surface before and after freeze–thaw is

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very important. The slope water content was measured by the oven-drying method by drilling sampling at the top,

middle, and bottom of the slope before freezing and during the spring thaw period. Fro m Fig. 6 we can see that the
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water content of the slope before freezing under the action of gravity is as follo ws: slope bottom > middle slope > slope
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top. The water content of the slope toe is about 40%, wh ich is twice that of the slope crest (20%). The water content at a

depth of 30 cm below the slope surface after freezing increased significantly, indicating that the water content in the
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slope leads to frost-heave due to the migration of mo isture to the frozen area under the act ion of freezing, which

indicates that the difference in water content in different parts of the slope will affect the frost depth and amount of
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frost-heave in different parts of the slope. The soil samples for the water content test were taken perpendicularly to the

slope with a sampling depth of 80 cm and sampling section of 10 cm.

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Fig. 6. Distribution of water content of the slope surface before and after freezing.

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3. Freezing conditions during the test

3.1. Freezing index

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Figure 7 shows the continuous measured curve of the freezing index and horizontal ground freezing - frost heaving

related parameters of the test period. Among them, the freezing index (FI) is an indicator of the degree of the cold
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weather; it, is the sum of products of the number of consecutive days of continuous negative temperature throughout the
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winter and the temperature value (Smith et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2016). The calculation method of the freezing index
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in this paper is shown in Fig. 7.The su m of the absolute values of positive (+) and negative (-) mean daily accu mu lated
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temperature is the freezing index.

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Fig. 7. The change curve of temperature, frost depth and frost-heave amount during the test.
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During the experiment, the freezing time of the soil is fro m mid-November to the midd le of March the following year,
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when the maximu m frost depth is reached, and then the melting period is entered; by early June, all of the soil has
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melted. The amount of frost-heave is consistent with the variation of frost depth from mid -November to March the
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following year, when the maximu m amount of frost-heave is reached, and then it begins to decrease. During the test, the
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maximu m frost depth was 52.6-90.6 cm, and the maximu m amount of surface frost-heave varied in the range of 4.6-8.8

cm. The above data cannot clearly signify the correlation between the freezing index, maximu m frost depth, and the

maximu m amount of frost-heave, because the main thermo-physical parameters influencing the frost-heave amount are

temperature grad ients and are not closely related to the freezing index, wh ich represents the degree of cold weather (He

et al., 2015; Ferreira et al., 2017). Although the frost depth is closely related to the freezing index, the surface

vegetation, snow, sunshine, wind, and frost-heave influence the development of frost depth, which is complex (Wen et
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al., 2008; Shen et al., 2015).

Slope crest

Z=0cm

Di
sta
nc
eZ
cm
Slope toe

Position of temperture measuring point

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Fig. 8. Cumulative temperature distribution of measuring points on slope.

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In addition, the temperature of the slope surface was observed by setting nine thermocouples at intervals of 50 cm on
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the slope of the external-soil spray seeding section, and the results are shown in Fig. 8. The abscissa of Fig. 8 indicates

the position of each temperature measurement point on the slope, and the ord inate indicates the accumu lated
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temperature. The cu mulat ive temperature calculation method here is the same as the freezing index, which reflects the

negative temperature accu mulation at each measuring point. Fro m Fig. 8, it can be seen that the cumulative temperature
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of measuring points on the 4-m-long finite slope are different, with the slope crest having a much higher cu mulative
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temperature than the slope toe; for examp le, for the period of 2005–2006, the annual cumulative temperature of the
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slope crest is three times that of the slope toe.

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3.2. Frost depth of the slope

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Figure 9 shows the variation curve of the frost depth of the slope surface in 2005–2006. It can be seen from Fig. 9 that

the freezing front of the 4-m-long fin ite slope is not consistent with the direction of the slope and the frost depth near

the top of the slope is larger than that of the slope toe. This is due to the t wo-way freezing at the top of the slope, the

difference in temperature on different parts of the slope, and the different water contents of the slope.

The slope of the test was completed in August 2004. Fro m the co mparison of the photographs of growth of the turf in

the different periods shown in Fig. 10, in the first year, the turf g rown was significantly better than the external-soil
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spray seeding section, but there was little d ifference in the third year. Figure 11 shows the comparison of the maximu m

frost depths in the middle of the slope during the four freeze–thaw cycles. Data shown in Figs. 9, 10, and 11 reveal that

the turf growing on the slope had a greater impact on the frost depth, because the turf provides a heat insulation effect,

while the growth of the vegetation affects the freeze-thaw erosion of the slope.

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Slope crest Slope crest

:Frost depth meter :Frost depth meter

Top Top

middle middle
Slope toe Slope toe
bottom bottom

Position of Frost depth meter Position of Frost depth meter

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Fig. 9. Distribution of freezing front of slope.
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2004/10//21 2006/06/20

(a) External-soil spray seeding section

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2004/10/21 2006/06/20

(b) Turfed section

Fig. 10. Growth of vegetation in different periods.

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Fig. 11. M aximum frost depth in the middle of the slope during the test.

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4. Gravitati onal erosion of slope during the freeze–thaw process

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4.1 The amount of frost-heave of slope
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The frost-heave of the soil is caused by the relative movement of the soil particles and expansion of the soil due to

freezing of pore water in soil into ice when the soil temperature d rops below the freezing point, which is closely related
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to the soil property, temperature and mo isture (Bronfenbrener et al., 2010; Sarsembayeva et al., 2017). Figure 12 shows

the continuous variation curve of the amount of frost-heave on the slope during the test period (10 November 2004 to
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10 June 2008). The frost-heave uplift of the slope surface begins in the first ten days of December, reaches its peak in
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the first ten days of March the fo llo wing year, and then begins to melt, but after melting, the residual deformation is
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accumulated year by year. As can be seen fro m the Fig. 12, after each freeze-thaw cycle, there will be a cu mulative
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amount of residual deformation. After four freeze-thaw cycles, the accumulated ground uplift in the upper, middle and
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lower parts of the external-soil spray seeding section reached 1.4cm, 2.65cm and 3.1cm respectively ，wh ile the

accumulated ground uplift in the upper, middle and lower parts of the turfed section reached 1.3cm, 2.9cm and 3.1cm

respectively.

The onset of frost heaving of the turfed section in the first year was 15 days later than that in the external-soil spray

seeding section, which was consistent with the growth of the turf shown in Fig 10. Although the lawn density,

uniformity, texture, height and other indicators were not measured, fro m the growth of the turf in d ifferent periods
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pictured it is considered that the lawn has heat insulation properties to a certain extent, preventing the freeze-thaw

erosion of the slope and thus affecting the occurrence of frost-heave. On co mparing the change curves of the amount of

frost-heave during the four freeze–thaw cycles, it can be seen that the frost-heave amount in the second year is

relatively s mall, which is consistent with the freezing parameters shown in Fig. 7. The amount of frost-heave on the

slope is as follows: lower part of the slope > midd le part of the slope > upper part of the slope, while the distribution of

water content of the slope (Fig. 6) corresponds to the freezing index (Fig. 8). The results show that the amount of frost-

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heave is closely related to the temperature and water content, and the amount of frost-heave of the soil is positively

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related to the water content of the slope; that is, the higher the water content, the larger the amount of frost-heave, and

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vice versa. During the freezing period, the freezing front is relatively stable when the latent heat released through the

surface into the soil is in equilibriu m with the latent heat released fro m the fro zen soil. Under the condition of slow
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freezing, the larger the water content, the higher the freezing capacity, the smaller the frost depth, and the larger the
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amount of frost-heave (Wang et al., 2016).

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Fig. 12.The amount of frost-heave of slope

4.2 The amount of movement of slope

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Figure 13 is a graph showing the continuous variation curve of the movement of each part of the slope during the test.

In this paper, the amount of downward movement in the direction parallel to the slope is used as an indicator of the anti-

slip ability of the slope. The upward movement is set to "+" and the downward movement is "–". The amount of

downward movement along the slope occurs main ly fro m the beginning of March to the end of May and is accumu lated

over the years, but in the early stage of freezing, upward movement occurs on the slope. This is due to the difference of

temperature and water content in different parts of the slope, so that the freezing front is not parallel to the slope surface,

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and thus upward movement along the slope occurs during the frost heaving. With the progress of freeze-thaw, in the

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thawing stage, downward movement along the slope occurs due to the influence of gravity after the shallow frozen soil

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melts. After four freeze–thaw cycles, the maximu m movement amount of the external-soil spray seeding section was –

13.1 cm and the maximu m movement amount of the turfed section was –6.1 cm.
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Fig. 13. The amount of movement of slope

4.3 The movement trajectory of the target point on the slope

Figure 14 is the movement trajectory of the target point in Fig. 5 during the test. In Fig. 14, the abscissa represents the

amount of movement along the slope and the ordinate represents the amount of frost-heave perpendicular to the slope.
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Under the action of alternate frost heaving and melt ing, the trajectory of jagged movement of the target point moves

downward year by year, but the movement trajectories of slopes with different types of protection and the same type of

vegetation in different years are d ifferent. When frost-heave occurs, the target point rises up to the direction

perpendicular to the slope surface. When melting, due to gravity, soil shear strength, slope angle, and other factors, the

target point is not necessarily along the direction of grav ity, but after each freeze–thaw cycle, the target point has

always moved downward by some distance.

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Fig. 14. The trajectory of the target point on the slope.

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4.4 The movement of the slope surface under the action of freeze–thaw

Figure 15 shows the pattern of movement of the surface of the vegetation slope in the freeze–thaw process during the

abovementioned experiment. Because the temperatures and water contents of different parts of the slope are d ifferent –

especially, the frost depth of the slope crest is greater than that of the slope toe – the freezing front is not parallel to the

slope direction. Because the freezing front and the slope surface are not parallel, there is the upward d isplacement of the

frozen soil in the early freezing stage. The dissolved water fro m the shallow frozen soil cannot be dissipated in time,
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which causes the shallow soil mass to move down the slope under the action of g ravity. In the melting period in spring,

because of the accumulating water within the cracks and longer duration of zero temperature below the surface, the

melting water is hampered when the soil body temperature reaches 0.1 °C, and the fro zen water within the soil body

melts rapidly. All of this leads to an excessive water content in the shallow slope and a decrease in soil shear strength,

followed by landslide of the slope.

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Position after frost heave
Fro Position before frost heave
st h
eav Da
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tu Position afer thaw settlement

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Freezing front

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Middle Target point
Slope before freezing
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Slpoe after thawing
Bottom a'
Slope after frost heave
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Moving direction

Water content:Top£ ¼
Middle£ ¼
Bottom Frost heave
Frost heave amount:Top£ M
¼ iddle£ B
¼ottom
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Fig. 15. Pattern of movement of slope surface under freeze–thaw.

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4.5 Effects of different vegetation types on slope protection

Figure 16 shows the correlation between the maximu m amount of frost-heave and the maximu m amount of movement
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measured each year during the test period. The maximu m amount of movement in Fig. 16 is the difference between the
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amount of movement at the end of the freeze–thaw process in mid-May of each year and the amount of movement

before freezing in mid-November of the previous year. In Fig. 16, the dashed line is the theoretical amount of

movement calculated by simp le geometry under the assumption that the displacement in the direct ion perpendicular to

the slope during frost-heave and the displacement in the direction of gravity during melting. The theoretical amount of

movement (ΔLS) is determined by the fo rmula ΔLS = ΔH∙ tan θ, where ΔH is the amount of frost heave perpendicular to

the freezing front, ΔLS is the theoretical amount of movement as it falls in the direct ion of gravity, and θ is the slope
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angle.；The symbol △、□、○ in figure 16 represents the measured amount of movement, the measurement method

shown in Figure 4. As can be seen, all the statistical points (measured amount of movement) are located below the

dashed line, indicating that they are less than the calculated value (theoretical amount of movement). The reason is that

upward movement along the slope occurred during the frost-heave and the root system of the vegetation suppressed the

downward movement along the slope: when vegetation covered the slope, the root reinforcement improved the stress of

the shallow soil layer on the slope, reducing the movement of the slope surface. In addit ion, due to the difference in the

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growth of the turf during the initial stage of slope construction, the amount of movement of the turfed section was less

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than that of the external-soil spray seeding section. Through the experiment of four freeze-thaw cycles, the behaviour of

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the limited vegetation slope during the freeze-thaw process was quantitatively identified. The above results are obtained

in the slope where no instability occurs.

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Fig. 16. The correlation between maximum amount of frost-heave and maximum amount of movement（The dashed line
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represents the theoretical value, and the symbol △, □, ○ represents the measured value.）.
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According to our research, some suggestions are made fo r the slope protection in cold regions. The suggestions are as

follows：

It is beneficial to reduce the gravity erosion creep of the slope under freeze-thaw in cold regions by planting the

vegetation with well-developed root systems and low stems and leaves, drought-resistant and cold-resistant features.

Considering the stability o f the slope, the vegetation slope protection methods can be used with turf and external-soil

spray seeding. These new technologies not only have the characteristics of fast greening and good slope protection, but
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also emphasize the coordination of road and nature and the unification of landscape and ecology.

5. Conclusions

In this paper, the gravitational erosion law of vegetation slope under freeze–thaw is preliminarily revealed by observing

the parameters such as slope temperature, frost depth, amount of frost-heave, and amount of movement in four freeze–

thaw cycles. The main conclusions are as follows:

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(1) The actual movement of the vegetation slope is captured in the process of freeze–thaw. Under the alternating

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freeze–thaw action, the target point of the slope moves in a jagged trajectory down the slope year by year, but the

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trajectories of the different vegetation slopes are different and the trajectories of the same vegetation slope are

different in different years.

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(2) The differences in temperature and water content of each part of the slope surface are the main reason why the
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freezing front of the slope is not parallel to the slope surface, the frost depth of the slope crest is greater than that

of the slope toe, and the amount of frost-heave of the slope toe is larger than that of the slope crest. The amount
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of movement perpendicular to the slope occurs in the in itial stage of frost heaving, and the downward movement

along the slope occurs due to gravity during the melting period.
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(3) The maximu m amount of movement in the external-soil spray seeding section was –13.1 cm after the

accumulat ion of four freeze–thaw cycles, wh ile that in the turfed section was –6.1 cm. The amount of movement
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and the amount of frost-heave are closely related to the growth of the root system; the growth of turf in the first
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year was significantly better than that in the external-soil spray seeding section, wh ile the difference between the

two sections was not significant in the third year.

(4) The extent of frost-heave damage to the slope can be measured fro m the maximu m amount of frost-heave and the

maximu m amount of movement. The measured results show that the amount of movement in the lower part of

the slope is larger than the theoretical value. The amount of frost-heave and the amount of movement are affected

by factors such as soil property, temperature, and water content. In general, the higher the water content of the
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place, the larger the amount of frost-heave.

(5) Vegetation slope protection is not only a simple landscape protection; in fact, the insulation and root

reinforcement effect provided by vegetation also inhibit shallow soil slip.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Nat ional Natural Science Foundation of Ch ina (Grant N.

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41371092). This research was partially supported by the Scientific Research Starting Foundation for Returned Overseas

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Chinese Scholars, Ministry of Education, China, the State Key Laboratory of Fro zen Soil Engineering

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(SKLFSE201402), the Nat ional Key Scientific and Technological Pro ject of Henan Province Office of Education,

China (Grant No. 14B170007), and the Doctoral Scientific Fund Project o f Henan Polytechnic University (Grant No.
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648347).
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Highlights

 The actual trajectory of movement of the slope surface is captured.

 Slope water content and temperature of the different distribution, resulting in freezing front is not parallel to
the slope surface.
 Slope behaviour is closely related to the development of the root system.

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