Erosion Resistance and Fertility of Frost-Resistant Ecological Substrate in Alpine Region

This research was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the application effect of the frost-resistant ecological substrate in the rock slope of the hydropower station. Field sampling and laboratory tests were conducted to determine the erosion resistance and fertility of frost-resistant ecological substrate, and the test results were compared with those of natural soils with similar site conditions. The research conclusions were as follows. Compared with the natural soil, the content of > 0.25 mm mechanical-stable aggregates, > 0.25 mm water-stable aggregates, average weight diameter, geometric average diameter, organic matter, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium of frost-resistant ecological substrate, significantly increased. On the contrary, erodibility factor, percentage aggregate disruption, aggregate degree, and dispersion rate decreased evidently. These results showed that erosion resistance and fertility of the frost-resistant ecological substrate have a better prospect in the engineering application of alpine regions. In addition, the principal component analysis showed that the principal component value of frost-resistant ecological substrate increased by 1.9 times that of natural soil. According to the correlation study, the increase in the amount of > 0.25 mm macro-aggregates and organic matter is the primary reason that ecological substrate has greater stability and fertility than natural soil. In conclusion, the frost-resistant ecological substrate was a suitable soil to create a suitable vegetation growth environment on the surface of rock slope in the alpine region.