Climate change has increased the frequency of extreme weather events, thereby exacerbating shallow flow-type landslides, soil erosion in mountainous areas, and slope instability in coastal regions. Vegetation and biopolymer materials have been used for ecological slope protection, but these methods often face limitations such as long growth cycles and unstable reinforcement effects. This study investigated thepotential of filamentous fungi and wheat bran in reinforcing loose sandy soil. Through triaxial shear tests, disintegration tests, and leachate analysis, the mechanical properties, durability, and environmental safety of fungus-treated sand were evaluated. The results show thatmycelium can enhance soil strength, reduce deformation, and lower excess pore water pressure, with more significant reinforcement effects under undrained conditions. Mycelium adheres to particle surfaces, forming durable bonds that increase soil cohesion and alter the slope of the critical state line, significantly enhancing the mechanical stability of fungus-treated sand. The strength parameters obtained after reinforcement are comparable to those of vegetation root-reinforced soil. After triaxial shear testing, the fungus-treated sand remained stable after 14 days of immersion in water, and no environmental risks were detected in the leachate. These findings indicate that fungal mycelium is an effective and environmentally friendly means of reinforcing loose sandy soil, which can be used to mitigate shallow landslides and enhance coastline stability.2. Figures and Tables SummaryFig. 1. Materials and procedure for sample preparation.Fig. 2. Schematic of apparatus for soil disintegration test.Fig. 3. Triaxial test data of treated sample: (a) deviatoric stress-axial strain curves in drained tests; (b) volumetric strain-axial stain curves in drained tests; (c) deviatoric stress-axial strain curves in undrained tests; (d) excess pore water pressure ratio-axial strain curves in undrained tests; (e) comparison of relative breakage index.Fig. 4. Comparison of triaxial test data between treated sample and untreated sample: (a) deviatoric stress-axial strain curves in drained tests; (b) volumetric strain-axial stain curves in drained tests; (c) excess pore water pressure ratio-axial strain curves in undrained tests; (d) effective stress paths; (e) failure mode for untreated sample; (f) failure mode for treated sample.Fig. 5. Variations of the peak deviatoric stress and elastic modulus with wheat bran content under drained and undrained conditions.Fig. 6. Stress path of fungus-treated sand under: (a) drained condition; (b) undrained condition.Fig. 7. Variations of the: (a) internal friction angle; (b) cohesion with wheat bran content; (c) comparison of strength parameters between fungus-treated sand and conventional reinforcement materials.Fig. 8. Typical photographs of the disintegration process for fungus-treated sand (a) treated sand; (b) treated sand after triaxial shear test; (c) untreated sand.Fig. 9. Scanning electron microscope imaging of fungus-treated sand. ColumnFig. 10. Morphological characterization of fungus-treated sand: (a) surface porosity; (b) pore circularity; (c) relative frequency of aggregate inclination distributionClick to read the original article and jump to the article link
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