A large-scale shaking table test of a living stump slope with a geometric similarity ratio of 1:7 was designed and completed. The peak acceleration, acceleration amplification factor, and displacement response patterns of living stumps slopes under different types of seismic waves and excitation intensities were obtained. The time-frequency and energy variation characteristics were analyzed using the Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT). The results showed that: (1) Regardless of the type of seismic wave, the peak acceleration and acceleration amplification factor of the living stumps slope surface are positively correlated with relative height and seismic excitation intensity. When the excitation intensity is ≤ 0.4 g, the acceleration amplification effect is more pronounced; when the excitation intensity is > 0.4 g, the acceleration amplification effect weakens. (2) Under the action of different seismic waves, the peak displacement of slope surface shows amplification effect along the elevation, and increases with the increase of excitation intensity. In addition, the incremental displacement gradually decreases from the toe to the top of the slope, which is expressed as D2 > D3 > D1 > D4 > D5. The peak displacement at the top of the slope is the greatest, but the incremental displacement is the smallest; the peak displacement at the toe of the slope is the smallest, but the incremental displacement is relatively large. (3) Regardless of the type of seismic wave, living stumps slope shows the characteristics of filtering the low-frequency components of the seismic waves and amplifying their high-frequency components. At the same time, the seismic Hilbert energy gradually accumulates along the elevation. PSHEA and PMSA significantly increase with elevation and excitation intensity, and they reach the maximum at the top of the slope. (4) The seismic Hilbert energy is positively correlated with the relative height and excitation intensity, and reaches the maximum at the top of the slope. With the accumulation of seismic Hilbert energy increases, the dynamic response parameters such as peak acceleration, acceleration amplification coefficient and displacement also increase synchronously, reaching the maximum at the top of the slope. The research conclusions can provide an experimental basis for the seismic design of living stumps slopes.

A large-scale shaking table model test on a slope with living stumps was designed and conducted. Under various types of seismic waves and excitation intensities, acceleration data from monitoring points on both sides of the living stumps were collected. Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) was innovatively applied to study the dynamic response of slopes with living stumps under seismic loading, overcoming the limitations of traditional Fourier Transform and Wavelet Transform. The variation patterns of Hilbert energy and marginal spectral characteristics under different seismic excitations were analyzed, providing new insights from both time-frequency domain and energy perspectives. The research conclusion showed that: (1) Under different seismic waves, the horizontal peak acceleration inside the living stumps slope shows the elevation amplification effect, and increases with the intensity of excitation. Additionally, the existence of living stumps causes a difference in horizontal acceleration on both sides, and the absolute value of the difference is positively correlated with elevation and excitation intensity. (2) Under different seismic waves, Peak of Hilbert energy spectrum (PSHEA) is positively correlated with excitation intensity and elevation. With the increase of elevation, the increase of PSHEA increases gradually when the excitation intensity increases. PMSA is positively correlated with excitation intensity, but at low frequencies (1-3 Hz), Peak of marginal spectrum (PMSA) is negatively correlated with elevation; while at high frequencies (7-11 Hz), PMSA is positively correlated with elevation. (3) With increasing elevation and excitation intensity, the total seismic Hilbert energy continues to accumulate and reaches the maximum at the top of the slope. During the propagation of seismic waves, the living stumps and the rock-soil composite play the characteristics of filtering the low-frequency components and amplifying the high-frequency components, causing the total seismic Hilbert energy in the low-frequency (1-3 Hz) component to gradually decrease and transfer to the high-frequency (7-11 Hz) component, resulting in a significant increase in seismic Hilbert energy in the high-frequency component. (4) The superposition of incident wave and reflected wave near the living stumps, and the absorption of seismic Hilbert energy by the living stumps make the PSHEA, PMSA, and total seismic Hilbert energy on the outside of the living stumps always smaller than the inside, resulting in different dynamic responses on either side of the living stumps. The living stumps show attenuation effect on seismic Hilbert energy, and the attenuation degree increases with the increase of excitation intensity and elevation. The study provides a theoretical basis for the seismic design of living stumps slopes.