Studies on plant selection framework for soil bioengineering application.

What is it about?

Among the issues faced by humans, the availability of land for usage is becoming a critical and primary concern, which affects a large population. Land degradation converts useful, productive land into non-cultivable and unproductive land. It degrades land in terms of reduction in productivity and usage, which occurs due to several factors, including climate change and poor land management. In this process, two interlocking complex systems are involved: the natural environment and the social system of humans, which alter the biophysical, natural environment, and socioeconomic factors in the area through this deterioration mechanism. Focusing on enhancing land usability, numerous efforts and techniques are being studied and used by researchers and practitioners worldwide. In this work, we introduced one such method called soil bioengineering, which is a process of promoting strength in slopes that are vulnerable to soil erosion and slope failure, and it is used for riverbank protection and, embankment strength enhancement. This method has gained worldwide popularity in the recent decade owing to its simplicity, ecosystem services, and economic viability of the process. Its particularity resides in the technological application of vegetation and is often mixed with other products. The sources and content of soil bioengineering have not been thoroughly explored, and there is still the possibility for other aspects to be examined. Many countries have already started implementing procedures and formed frameworks for using plant wealth not only to protect slopes but also to eradicate land degradation, which is important for ecosystem protection.

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Why is it important?

Our findings show that the social strategies of group-living animals can be adjusted over very short time periods - within a day. Thus, the social strategies of baboons are much more flexible than previously appreciated.

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