Abstract
Shallow landslides are an increasing concern in Italy and worldwide because of the frequent association with vegetation management. As vegetation cover plays a fundamental role in slope stability, we developed a GIS-based model to evaluate the influence of plant roots on slope safety, and also included a landslide susceptibility map. The GIS-based model, 4SLIDE, is a physically based predictor for shallow landslides that combines geological, topographical, and hydrogeological data. The 4SLIDE combines the infinite slope model, TOPMODEL (for the estimation of the saturated water level), and a vegetation root strength model, which facilitates prediction of locations that are more susceptible for shallow landslides as a function of forest cover. The aim is to define the spatial distribution of Factor of Safety (FS) in steep-forested areas. The GIS-based model 4SLIDE was tested in a forest mountain watershed located in the Sila Greca (Cosenza, Calabria, South Italy) where almost 93% of the area is covered by forest. The sensitive ROC analysis (Receiver Operating Characteristic) indicates that the model has good predictive capability in identifying the areas sensitive to shallow landslides. The localization of areas at risk of landslides plays an important role in land management activities because landslides are among the most costly and dangerous hazards.
Highlights
Landslides are defined as mass movements of soil and rocks along a slope
We had tested the tool’s in the catchment without the of vegetation. These results show that the model has good predictive capability forbenefit identifying the at risk
The steps will be to adapt the model for application in urban areas and utilize an open source software Geographical Information System (GIS) like QGIS. Natural hazards are those processes that occur naturally and when they damage or negatively affect people, property, or the environment, they result in disasters
Summary
Landslides are defined as mass movements of soil and rocks along a slope. Landslides occur when slopes undergo a decrease in the shear strength of the hillside material due to an increase in the shear stress, or due to a combination of natural ecosystem processes and anthropogenic activities [1,2].In some cases, human activities can trigger or, more often, they can accelerate the dynamics of natural processes by modifying the threshold of occurrence of landslides, potentially increasing risks for people. Landslides are defined as mass movements of soil and rocks along a slope. Landslides occur when slopes undergo a decrease in the shear strength of the hillside material due to an increase in the shear stress, or due to a combination of natural ecosystem processes and anthropogenic activities [1,2]. Human activities can trigger or, more often, they can accelerate the dynamics of natural processes by modifying the threshold of occurrence of landslides, potentially increasing risks for people. Land use changes and different land management practices can interact with those factors due to their influence on soil hydrological response, . Geosciences 2020, 10, 309 increasing hazard risk [3,4,5,6].
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