The Qinghai-Xizang Plateau of China faces challenges like thaw slumping, threatening slope stability and infrastructure. Understanding the mechanical properties of the roots of the dominant herbaceous plant species in the alpine meadow layer of the permafrost regions on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau is essential for evaluating their role in enhancing soil shear strength and mitigating slope deformation in these fragile environments. In this study, the roots of four dominant herbaceous plant species-Kobresia pygmaea, Kobresia humilis, Carex moorcroftii, and Leontopodium pusillum-that are widely distributed in the permafrost regions of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau were explored to determine their mechanical properties and effects in enhancing soil shear strength. Through indoor single root tensile and root group tensile tests, we determined the root diameter, tensile force, tensile strength, tensile ratio, and strength frequency distributions. We also evaluated their contributions to inhibiting slope deformation and failure during the formation and development of thermal thaw slumps in the alpine meadow. The results showed that the distribution of the root diameter of the dominant plant species is mostly normal, while the tensile strength tends to be logarithmically normally distributed. The relationship between the root diameter and root tensile strength conforms to a power function. The theoretical tensile strength of the root group was calculated using the Wu-Waldron Model (WWM) and the Fiber Bundle Model (FBM) under the assumption that the cumulative single tensile strength of the root bundle is identical to the tensile strength of the root group in the WWM. The FBM considers three fracture modes: FBM-D (the tensile force on each single root is proportional to its diameter relative to the total sum of all the root diameters), FBM-S (the cross-sectional stress in the root bundle is uniform), and FBM-N (each tensile strength test of individual roots experiences an equal load). It was found that the model-calculated tensile strength of the root group was 162.60% higher than the test value. The model-derived tensile force of the root group from the FBM-D, FBM-S, and FBM-N was 73.10%, 28.91%, and 13.47% higher than the test values, respectively. The additional cohesion of the soil provided by the roots was calculated to be 25.90-45.06 kPa using the modified WWM, 67.05-38.15 kPa using the FBM-S, and 57.24-32.74 kPa using the FBM-N. These results not only provide a theoretical basis for further quantitative evaluation of the mechanical effects of the root systems of herbaceous plant species in reinforcing the surface soil but also have practical significance for the effective prevention and control of thermal thaw slumping disasters in the permafrost regions containing native alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau using flexible plant protection measures.

In the lake-rich tundra uplands east of the Mackenzie Delta, almost one in ten lakes has been affected by retrogressive thaw slumping. In this study, we assessed water chemistry for 34 slump-affected and 39 undisturbed upland lakes across this region and found that environmental factors typically evoked to explain variation in tundra lake water quality including surficial geology and proximity to the treeline or coast were subordinate to the main driver, permafrost degradation. Thaw slump-affected lakes had elevated ionic concentrations and water clarity in comparison with undisturbed lakes. The strength of the ionic impact was positively associated with the proportion of catchment affected by slumping and inversely related to disturbance age. Slumping did not have a significant effect on total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations, although Water clarity increased significantly with decreasing age of disturbance. In lakes undisturbed by slumping. fire-induced active-layer deepening had a delectable influence on lake water ionic strength. Surficial deposits influenced TOC concentrations with the highest concentrations and colour in undisturbed lakes with lacustrine catchments. In a warming Arctic, thermokarst processes may increase in importance as a driver of ionic chemistry and optical properties of small lakes and ponds, and shifts in aquatic food webs can be anticipated. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada.