Action Mechanism of Forage Grass Roots on the Soil Structure

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On a permanent grassland, it was observed that living and dead roots and subterranean stems were accumulated in the ground surface. They were divided into three layers. The topmost layer was composed of plant material with no soil particles and was called R-layer. The second intermediate layer was made of soil particles bound by living and dead roots and was called the RS-layer. Both the R and the RS-layers could be lifted together easily away from the underlying layer in field.The lowest layer was called the Slayer and was composed of soil with a small quantity of plant material. The two uppermost layers taken together are referred to as the root mat. The thickness of the root mat increased with age. In comparing the R-layer with the RS-layer, the change in the thickness of the R-layer was more affected by time.This results suggests that the root mat formation is dependent on the accumulation of grass roots which can not penetrate into the ground.