Land Use/Land Cover and Natural Hazards: Interactions, Changes, and Impacts

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 40861

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Special Issue Editors

1. Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Regional Development, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Informatics, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Trieda A. Hlinku 1, 949 01 Nitra, Slovakia
2. Institute of Geography, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Štefánikova 49, 814 73 Bratislava, Slovakia
Interests: flood mapping; flood hazard; flood risk; flood susceptibility; flood management; hydrologic-hydraulic modeling; surface runoff; landslide hazard; land use/land cover change; multi-criteria decision analysis; geographic information systems; remote sensing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Economics, Engineering, Society and Business Organization (DEIM), Tuscia University, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Interests: rainfall-runoff modeling; flood prone area estimation; surface hydrology; GIS terrain analysis for hydrogeomorphic applications; hydrological processes monitoring and modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), Italy, Tuscia University, 01100 Viterbo, VT, Italy
Interests: urban regeneration and performance-based planning; urban storm water and climate regulation by green and grey infrastructure; low-entropy systems; climate adaptation; nature-based solutions and ecosystem services; urban modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past few decades, the risks due to natural hazards have increased significantly due to changes in climate as well as land use/land cover (LULC), which are both triggered mainly by anthropic pressure on landscapes, i.e., urbanization, forest management practices, agricultural practices, and the like. Climate and LULC change contribute significantly to changes in the frequency, variability, or magnitude of natural hazards, such as floods, landslides, erosion, and so on.   

Constant progress in remote sensing (RS) allows for the rapid collection of information about the landscape, namely LULC, of adequate quality and accuracy. Geographic information system (GIS), in turn, represents a tool for processing, modeling, analyzing, and synthesizing spatial data. In addition, RS and GIS play an essential role in natural hazards mapping, monitoring, and assessment.

Therefore, the focus of this Special Issue is to gather and present the current knowledge on the interactions between LULC and natural hazards and to study the impacts of LULC changes/scenarios on the occurrence of natural hazards, as well as vice versa – the impacts of natural hazards on LULC and society at various spatial scales (from local to global). Tackling these issues has the potential to help risk managers and decision-makers to adopt appropriate mitigation/adaptation actions and resilient preparedness and response.

Authors are encouraged to submit innovative and original contributions in the following priority areas, but not exclusively:

  • Change in historical and present LULC and its impact on natural hazards,
  • LULC future scenario modeling and its impact on the occurrence of natural hazards,
  • Impact of natural hazards on LULC and society.

Dr. Matej Vojtek
Dr. Andrea Petroselli
Dr. Raffaele Pelorosso
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • land use/land cover (LULC)
  • historical LULC
  • present LULC
  • LULC scenarios
  • natural hazards mapping
  • floods
  • landslides
  • erosion
  • geographic information systems (GIS)
  • remote sensing (RS)
  • statistical modeling
  • numerical modeling
  • machine learning modeling

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Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

23 pages, 14126 KiB  
Article
Land Take and Landslide Hazard: Spatial Assessment and Policy Implications from a Study Concerning Sardinia
by Federica Isola, Sabrina Lai, Federica Leone and Corrado Zoppi
Land 2023, 12(2), 359; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020359 - 28 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1844
Abstract
Land take and soil sealing imply land cover transitions that may possibly result in decreased capacity to resist landslides; hence, this study focuses on the relations between land-taking processes and landslide hazard by addressing the following research question: “To what extent do land-taking [...] Read more.
Land take and soil sealing imply land cover transitions that may possibly result in decreased capacity to resist landslides; hence, this study focuses on the relations between land-taking processes and landslide hazard by addressing the following research question: “To what extent do land-taking processes increase landslide hazard?” The impact of land take is assessed through a regression model which relates the level of landslide hazard to a set of land cover variables which include artificialized land; that is, land taken up through urbanization processes, and a set of covariates that represent land cover types grouped in accordance with the LEAC (land and ecosystem accounting) classification. This methodological approach is implemented into the spatial context of Sardinia, an insular Italian region, and shows that not only the amount of taken up artificialized land, but also other types of land covers, are likely to increase the magnitude of landslide hazard. A set of implications concerning planning policies related to land cover and land cover transitions are discussed in the concluding section, where policy recommendations are identified in order to mitigate the impacts of land cover transitions on landslide hazards. Full article
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24 pages, 9882 KiB  
Article
Spatiotemporal Change Analysis and Prediction of the Great Yellow River Region (GYRR) Land Cover and the Relationship Analysis with Mountain Hazards
by Chunliu Gao, Deqiang Cheng, Javed Iqbal and Shunyu Yao
Land 2023, 12(2), 340; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020340 - 27 Jan 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2093
Abstract
The study of land use/land cover (LULC) changes plays an important guiding role in regional ecological protection and sustainable development policy formulation. Especially, the simulation study of the future scenarios may provide a hypothetical prospect which could help to determine the rationality of [...] Read more.
The study of land use/land cover (LULC) changes plays an important guiding role in regional ecological protection and sustainable development policy formulation. Especially, the simulation study of the future scenarios may provide a hypothetical prospect which could help to determine the rationality of current and future development policies. In order to support the ecological protection and high-quality development strategy of the Yellow River Basin proposed by the Chinese government, the Great Yellow River Region (GYRR) is taken as the research area. The multi-period land cover data are used to carry out the analysis of land cover changes. The MOLUSCE (Modules for Land Use Change Simulations) plugin of QGIS software is used to carry out a land cover simulation and prediction study for 2030 on a large regional scale. Finally, the land cover status in the mountainous areas of the GYRR is analyzed thoroughly. The results show a decrease in agricultural land and increase in forest land during the past 25 years from 1995 to 2020, and that this trend would continue to 2030. The landscape pattern index analysis indicates that the land cover in the GYRR has become more and more abundant, and the degree of fragmentation has become higher and higher, while landscape patches were more evenly distributed in the GYRR until 2020. On the other hand, the landscape pattern would tend to achieve a certain degree of stability in 2030. The decrease in farmland and the increase in forest land illustrate the efforts made by the GYRR residents and governments in improving the ecological environment under the policy of returning farmland to forests and grasslands. On the other hand, although the residential areas in the mountainous areas are far away from the mountain hazard historical points because of consideration during construction with the help of the development of disaster prevention and mitigation over the years, there could be problem of rapid and haphazard urbanization. It is worth mentioning here that the harmonious and sustainable development of people and land in the GYRR mountainous areas still requires a large amount of effort. Full article
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16 pages, 6910 KiB  
Article
Planform Changes in the Lower Mahaweli River, Sri Lanka Using Landsat Satellite Data
by Vindhya Basnayaka, Jayanga T. Samarasinghe, Miyuru B. Gunathilake, Nitin Muttil and Upaka Rathnayake
Land 2022, 11(10), 1716; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11101716 - 03 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2260
Abstract
Major development projects along rivers, like reservoirs and other hydraulic structures, have changed not only river discharges but also sediment transport. Thus, changes in river planforms can be observed in such rivers. In addition, river centerline migrations can be witnessed. The Mahaweli River [...] Read more.
Major development projects along rivers, like reservoirs and other hydraulic structures, have changed not only river discharges but also sediment transport. Thus, changes in river planforms can be observed in such rivers. In addition, river centerline migrations can be witnessed. The Mahaweli River is the longest in Sri Lanka, having the largest catchment area among the 103 major river basins in the country. The river has been subjected to many development projects over the last 50 years, causing significant changes in the river discharge and sediment transport. However, no research has been carried out to evaluate the temporal and spatial changes in planforms. The current seeks to qualitatively analyze the river planform changes of the Lower Mahaweli River (downstream to Damanewewa) over the past 30 years (from 1991 to 2021) and identify the major planform features and their spatiotemporal changes in the lower Mahaweli River. Analyzing the changes in rivers requires long-term data with high spatial resolution. Therefore, in this research, remotely sensed Landsat satellite data were used to analyze the planform changes of Lower Mahaweli River with a considerably high resolution (30 m). These Landsat satellite images were processed and analyzed using the QGIS mapping tool and a semi-automated digitizing tool. The results show that major changes in river Mahaweli occurred mainly in the most downstream sections of the selected river segment. Further, the river curvature was also comparatively high downstream of the river. An oxbow lake formation was observed over time in the most downstream part of the Mahaweli River after 2011. Centerline migration rates were also calculated with the generated river centerlines. It was found that the rates were generally lower than about 30 m per year, except for at locations where river meandering was observed. The main limitations of this study were the possible misclassifications due to the resolution of images and obstructions caused by cloud cover in the Landsat images. To achieve more accurate estimates, this study could be developed further with quantitative mathematical analysis by also considering the sediment dynamics of the Mahaweli River. Full article
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17 pages, 12357 KiB  
Article
Physical Model Test on the Interface of Loess Fill Slope
by Weijia Tan, Qiangbing Huang and Xing Chen
Land 2022, 11(8), 1372; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11081372 - 22 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1656
Abstract
The interface between the filling slope and the original slope is inevitable in the process of building a city in the loess area, which will affect the deformation and stability of the filling slope. In this paper, the loess fill slope of mountain [...] Read more.
The interface between the filling slope and the original slope is inevitable in the process of building a city in the loess area, which will affect the deformation and stability of the filling slope. In this paper, the loess fill slope of mountain excavation and city construction project in Yan’an City, China, is taken as the research object, and, based on field investigation and sampling, the effect of Loess Fill Slope Interface (LFSI) under rainfall is revealed by physical model test. The test samples were taken from a Loess Fill in Qilipu community, Yan’an, and three layers of sensors were arranged at the left and right interfaces of the original slope and the filled slope to monitor the water content, pore water pressure and deformation and failure characteristics during the experiment. The results show that ILFS is a rainfall dominant seepage channel, and the infiltration of rainfall along the interface lags behind. In addition, the variation laws of water content and pore water pressure at the interface between fill slope and original slope under rainfall are obtained. Finally, the failure process of loess fill slope under rainfall is summarized: local mud flow failure at the toe of the slope → erosion in the middle of the slope → crack initiation on the shoulder of the slope → local slip on the slope → crack propagation on the shoulder of the slope → shallow slip on the shoulder of the slope, and the instability mechanism of loess fill slope under rainfall is further revealed. The research results can provide theoretical and experimental reference for the protection of fill slopes in loess areas. Full article
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15 pages, 6461 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Meandering River Morphodynamics Using Satellite Remote Sensing Data—An Application in the Lower Deduru Oya (River), Sri Lanka
by Vindhya Basnayaka, Jayanga T. Samarasinghe, Miyuru B. Gunathilake, Nitin Muttil, Dileepa C. Hettiarachchi, Amila Abeynayaka and Upaka Rathnayake
Land 2022, 11(7), 1091; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11071091 - 16 Jul 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2978
Abstract
River meandering and anabranching have become major problems in many large rivers that carry significant amounts of sediment worldwide. The morphodynamics of these rivers are complex due to the temporal variation of flows. However, the availability of remote sensing data and geographic information [...] Read more.
River meandering and anabranching have become major problems in many large rivers that carry significant amounts of sediment worldwide. The morphodynamics of these rivers are complex due to the temporal variation of flows. However, the availability of remote sensing data and geographic information systems (GISs) provides the opportunity to analyze the morphological changes in river systems both quantitatively and qualitatively. The present study investigated the temporal changes in the river morphology of the Deduru Oya (river) in Sri Lanka, which is a meandering river. The study covered a period of 32 years (1989 to 2021), using Landsat satellite data and the QGIS platform. Cloud-free Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 satellite images were extracted and processed to extract the river mask. The centerline of the river was generated using the extracted river mask, with the support of semi-automated digitizing software (WebPlotDigitizer). Freely available QGIS was used to investigate the temporal variation of river migration. The results of the study demonstrated that, over the past three decades, both the bend curvatures and the river migration rates of the meandering bends have generally increased with time. In addition, it was found that a higher number of meandering bends could be observed in the lower (most downstream) and the middle parts of the selected river segment. The current analysis indicates that the Deduru Oya has undergone considerable changes in its curvature and migration rates. Full article
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15 pages, 6069 KiB  
Article
A Heuristic Method to Evaluate the Effect of Soil Tillage on Slope Stability: A Pilot Case in Central Italy
by Evelina Volpe, Stefano Luigi Gariano, Francesca Ardizzone, Federica Fiorucci and Diana Salciarini
Land 2022, 11(6), 912; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11060912 - 15 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1572
Abstract
Among the various predisposing factors of rainfall-induced shallow landslides, land use is constantly evolving, being linked to human activities. Between different land uses, improper agricultural practices can have a negative impact on slope stability. Indeed, unsustainable soil tillage can modify the mechanical properties [...] Read more.
Among the various predisposing factors of rainfall-induced shallow landslides, land use is constantly evolving, being linked to human activities. Between different land uses, improper agricultural practices can have a negative impact on slope stability. Indeed, unsustainable soil tillage can modify the mechanical properties of the soils, leading to a possible increase of the instability phenomena. However, the effects of soil tillage on slope stability are poorly investigated. To address this topic, the PG_TRIGRS model (a probabilistic, geostatistic-based extension of TRIGRS) was applied to a cultivated, landslide-prone area in central Italy, thoroughly studied and periodically monitored through systematic image analysis and field surveys. A heuristic approach was adopted to quantitatively evaluate the effect of soil tillage on the mechanical properties of the soil: after a first run of the model with unbiased parameters, the slope stability analysis was carried out assuming several percentages of reduction of the effective soil cohesion to mimic an increasing impact of soil tillage on the strength conditions. Then, a comparison between observed landslides and the spatial distribution of the probability of failure derived from the application of PG_TRIGRS was carried out. A back analysis with contingency matrix and skill scores was adopted to search for the best compromise between correct and incorrect model outcomes. The results show that soil tillage caused a 20 to 30% reduction in soil cohesion in the analyzed area. Full article
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16 pages, 4929 KiB  
Article
Land Use in Flood-Prone Areas and Its Significance for Flood Risk Management—A Case Study of Alpine Regions in Austria
by Lena Junger, Severin Hohensinner, Karin Schroll, Klaus Wagner and Walter Seher
Land 2022, 11(3), 392; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11030392 - 07 Mar 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3677
Abstract
Increasing flood damage has led to a rising importance of land use in flood risk management policies, commonly referred to as the spatial turn in flood risk management. This includes policies aiming at making space for rivers, which, in practice, lead to an [...] Read more.
Increasing flood damage has led to a rising importance of land use in flood risk management policies, commonly referred to as the spatial turn in flood risk management. This includes policies aiming at making space for rivers, which, in practice, lead to an increasing demand for land. Although research has been conducted on the variety of policies, the resulting land use conflicts in flood-prone areas have not been paid much attention to. This paper therefore analyses the current land use and its changes in Alpine flood-prone areas in Austria. The results show that space for rivers has been decreasing due to human activities (e.g., river straightening and channel narrowing) since the middle of the 19th century, and settlements have been expanding into flood-prone areas. Furthermore, the share of valuable agricultural land (which is important for food production) located in flood hazard zones is higher in more mountainous areas. Given the limited space for permanent settlement in Alpine regions, these land use changes exert pressure on the availability of land suitable for flood risk management. Therefore, making space for rivers as part of flood risk management policies faces considerable restrictions in Alpine areas. Full article
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17 pages, 8091 KiB  
Article
Monitoring of Land Use–Land Cover Change and Potential Causal Factors of Climate Change in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan, through GIS and Multi-Temporal Satellite Data
by Muhammad Majeed, Aqil Tariq, Muhammad Mushahid Anwar, Arshad Mahmood Khan, Fahim Arshad, Faisal Mumtaz, Muhammad Farhan, Lili Zhang, Aroosa Zafar, Marjan Aziz, Sanaullah Abbasi, Ghani Rahman, Sajjad Hussain, Muhammad Waheed, Kaniz Fatima and Shadab Shaukat
Land 2021, 10(10), 1026; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10101026 - 30 Sep 2021
Cited by 53 | Viewed by 7902
Abstract
Land use–land cover (LULC) alteration is primarily associated with land degradation, especially in recent decades, and has resulted in various harmful changes in the landscape. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) has the prospective capacity to classify the vegetative characteristics of many ecological [...] Read more.
Land use–land cover (LULC) alteration is primarily associated with land degradation, especially in recent decades, and has resulted in various harmful changes in the landscape. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) has the prospective capacity to classify the vegetative characteristics of many ecological areas and has proven itself useful as a remote sensing (RS) tool in recording vegetative phenological aspects. Likewise, the normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) is used for quoting built-up areas. The current research objectives include identification of LULC, NDVI, and NDBI changes in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan, during the last 30 years (1990–2020). This study targeted five major LULC classes: water channels, built-up area, barren land, forest, and cultivated land. Satellite imagery classification tools were used to identify LULC changes in Jhelum District, northern Punjab, Pakistan. The perception data about the environmental variations as conveyed by the 500 participants (mainly farmers) were also recorded and analyzed. The results depict that the majority of farmers (54%) believe in the appearance of more drastic changes such as less rainfall, drought, and decreased water availability for irrigation during 2020 compared to 30 years prior. Overall accuracy assessment of imagery classification was 83.2% and 88.8% for 1990, 88.1% and 85.7% for 2000, 86.5% and 86.7% for 2010, and 85.6% and 87.3% for 2020. The NDVI for Jhelum District was the highest in 1990 at +0.86 and the lowest in 2020 at +0.32; similarly, NDBI values were the highest in 2020 at +0.72 and the lowest in 1990 at −0.36. LULC change showed a clear association with temperature, NDBI, and NDVI in the study area. At the same time, variations in the land area of barren soil, vegetation, and built-up from 1990 to 2020 were quite prominent, possibly resulting in temperature increases, reduction in water for irrigation, and changing rainfall patterns. Farmers were found to be quite responsive to such climatic variations, diverting to framing possible mitigation approaches, but they need government assistance. The findings of this study, especially the causes and impacts of rapid LULC variations in the study area, need immediate attention from related government departments and policy makers. Full article
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29 pages, 8114 KiB  
Article
Towards the Use of Land Use Legacies in Landslide Modeling: Current Challenges and Future Perspectives in an Austrian Case Study
by Raphael Knevels, Alexander Brenning, Simone Gingrich, Gerhard Heiss, Theresia Lechner, Philip Leopold, Christoph Plutzar, Herwig Proske and Helene Petschko
Land 2021, 10(9), 954; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10090954 - 08 Sep 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2263
Abstract
Land use/land cover (LULC) changes may alter the risk of landslide occurrence. While LULC has often been considered as a static factor representing present-day LULC, historical LULC dynamics have recently begun to attract more attention. The study objective was to assess the effect [...] Read more.
Land use/land cover (LULC) changes may alter the risk of landslide occurrence. While LULC has often been considered as a static factor representing present-day LULC, historical LULC dynamics have recently begun to attract more attention. The study objective was to assess the effect of LULC legacies of nearly 200 years on landslide susceptibility models in two Austrian municipalities (Waidhofen an der Ybbs and Paldau). We mapped three cuts of LULC patterns from historical cartographic documents in addition to remote-sensing products. Agricultural archival sources were explored to provide also a predictor on cumulative biomass extraction as an indicator of historical land use intensity. We use historical landslide inventories derived from high-resolution digital terrain models (HRDTM) generated using airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), which are reported to have a biased landslide distribution on present-day forested areas and agricultural land. We asked (i) if long-term LULC legacies are important and reliable predictors and (ii) if possible inventory biases may be mitigated by LULC legacies. For the assessment of the LULC legacy effect on landslide occurrences, we used generalized additive models (GAM) within a suitable modeling framework considering various settings of LULC as predictor, and evaluated the effect with well-established diagnostic tools. For both municipalities, we identified a high density of landslides on present-day forested areas, confirming the reported drawbacks. With the use of LULC legacy as an additional predictor, it was not only possible to account for this bias, but also to improve model performances. Full article
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18 pages, 4261 KiB  
Article
Impact of Land Use Change Due to Urbanisation on Surface Runoff Using GIS-Based SCS–CN Method: A Case Study of Xiamen City, China
by Sabita Shrestha, Shenghui Cui, Lilai Xu, Lihong Wang, Bikram Manandhar and Shengping Ding
Land 2021, 10(8), 839; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10080839 - 11 Aug 2021
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4243
Abstract
Rapid urban development results in visible changes in land use due to increase in impervious surfaces from human construction and decrease in pervious areas. Urbanisation influences the hydrological cycle of an area, resulting in less infiltration, higher flood peak, and surface runoff. This [...] Read more.
Rapid urban development results in visible changes in land use due to increase in impervious surfaces from human construction and decrease in pervious areas. Urbanisation influences the hydrological cycle of an area, resulting in less infiltration, higher flood peak, and surface runoff. This study analysed the impact of land use change due to urbanisation on surface runoff, using the geographic information system (GIS)-based soil conservation service curve number (SCS–CN) method, during the period of rapid urban development from 1980 to 2015 in Xiamen, located in south-eastern China. Land use change was analysed from the data obtained by classifying Landsat images from 1980, 1990, 2005, and 2015. Results indicated that farmland decreased the most by 14.01%, while built-up areas increased the most by 15.7%, from 1980 to 2015. Surface runoff was simulated using the GIS-based SCS–CN method for the rainfall return periods of 5, 10, 20, and 50 years. The spatial and temporal variation of runoff was obtained for each land use period. Results indicate that the increase in surface runoff was highest in the period of 1990–2005, with an increase of 10.63%. The effect of urbanisation can be realised from the amount of runoff, contributed by built-up land use type in the study area, that increased from 14.2% to 27.9% with the rise of urban expansion from 1980 to 2015. The relationship between land use and surface runoff showed that the rapid increase in constructed land has significantly influenced the surface runoff of the area. Therefore, the introduction of nature-based solutions such as green infrastructure could be a potential solution for runoff mitigation and reducing urban flood risks in the context of increasing urbanization. Full article
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32 pages, 28918 KiB  
Article
Flash Flood Events along the West Mediterranean Coasts: Inundations of Urbanized Areas Conditioned by Anthropic Impacts
by Francesco Faccini, Fabio Luino, Guido Paliaga, Anna Roccati and Laura Turconi
Land 2021, 10(6), 620; https://doi.org/10.3390/land10060620 - 09 Jun 2021
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4034
Abstract
Flash floods represent one of the natural hazards that causes the greatest number of victims in the Mediterranean area. These processes occur by short and intense rainfall affecting limited areas of a few square kilometers, with rapid hydrological responses. Among the causes of [...] Read more.
Flash floods represent one of the natural hazards that causes the greatest number of victims in the Mediterranean area. These processes occur by short and intense rainfall affecting limited areas of a few square kilometers, with rapid hydrological responses. Among the causes of the flood frequency increase in the last decades are the effects of the urban expansion in areas of fluvial pertinence and climatic change, namely the interaction between anthropogenic landforms and hydro-geomorphological dynamics. In this paper the authors show a comparison between flood events with very similar weather-hydrological characteristics and the ground effects occurred in coastal areas of three regions located at the top of a triangle in the Ligurian Sea, namely Liguria, Tuscany and Sardinia. With respect to the meteorological-hydrological hazard, it should be noted that the events analyzed occurred during autumn, in the conditions of a storm system triggered by cyclogenesis on the Genoa Gulf or by the extra-tropical cyclone Cleopatra. The “flash floods” damage recorded in the inhabited areas is due to the vulnerability of the elements at risk in the fluvio-coastal plains examined. There are numerous anthropogenic forcings that have influenced the hydro-geomorphological dynamics and that have led to an increase in risk conditions. Full article
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Review

Jump to: Research

35 pages, 1408 KiB  
Review
Environmental Forest Fire Danger Rating Systems and Indices around the Globe: A Review
by Ioannis Zacharakis and Vassilios A. Tsihrintzis
Land 2023, 12(1), 194; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12010194 - 06 Jan 2023
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3443
Abstract
The objective of the present review is to analyze and evaluate the most used and well-performing environmental forest fire danger rating systems and indices globally, aiming to the creation of an integrated forest fire danger system for Greece. The analysis emphasizes the core [...] Read more.
The objective of the present review is to analyze and evaluate the most used and well-performing environmental forest fire danger rating systems and indices globally, aiming to the creation of an integrated forest fire danger system for Greece. The analysis emphasizes the core input parameters that have been associated with forest fire danger (i.e., weather, vegetation, topography, and hydrology) and the computational procedure of each system index as well as the categorization of the output values. Online search engines such as Scopus, Google Scholar, WorldWideScience, ScienceDirect, and ResearchGate were used in the search for relevant literature published in scientific journals, manuals, and reports. The retrieved studies were classified and reviewed. Studies were selected for analytically describing the calculation process related to forest fire danger ignition and not being strictly geographically bound. A total of 210 studies were included in the current review, describing 63 forest fire danger systems and indices. These were analyzed and evaluated based on a scoring system. Overall, the top-rated indices were the: Nesterov’s index, Sharples’ index, Keetch and Byram’s drought index, Telicyn logarithmic, and vapor pressure deficit, and the 3rd and the 4th also proved to be the most accurate for fire-prone regions. Remote sensing indices also proved to be promising in forest fire danger estimation. Full article
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