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GIS-based assessment of landslide susceptibility on the base of the Weights-of-Evidence model

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Abstract

The major scope of the study is the assessment of landslide susceptibility of Flysch areas including the Penninic Klippen in the Vienna Forest (Lower Austria) by means of Geographical Information System (GIS)-based modelling. A statistical/probabilistic method, referred to as Weights-of-Evidence (WofE), is applied in a GIS environment in order to derive quantitative spatial information on the predisposition to landslides. While previous research in this area concentrated on local geomorphological, pedological and slope stability analyses, the present study is carried out at a regional level. The results of the modelling emphasise the relevance of clay shale zones within the Flysch formations for the occurrence of landslides. Moreover, the distribution of mass movements is closely connected to the fault system and nappe boundaries. An increased frequency of landslides is observed in the proximity to drainage lines, which can change to torrential conditions after heavy rainfall. Furthermore, landslide susceptibility is enhanced on N-W facing slopes, which are exposed to the prevailing direction of wind and rainfall. Both of the latter geofactors indirectly show the major importance of the hydrological conditions, in particular, of precipitation and surface runoff, for the occurrence of mass movements in the study area. Model performance was checked with an independent validation set of landslides, which are not used in the model. An area of 15% of the susceptibility map, classified as highly susceptible, “predicted” 40% of the landslides.

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Acknowledgements

The project is supported by the Austrian Academy of Science (ÖAW) in the frame of the DOC-fFORTE fellowship. Data have been gratefully received by the Austrian Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of the Construction Group of the Provincial Government of Lower Austria (Geologische Dienst der Gruppe Baudirektion der Niederösterreichischen Landesregierung), and the Department of Torrent and Avalanche Controlling (Wildbach und Lawinenverbauung) of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management in Austria. In these authorities, we would like to express our gratitude to Mag. Thomas Hofmann, Dr. Joachim Schweigl, and Dipl. Ing Christian Amberger.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany

    Bettina Neuhäuser

  2. Institute of Structural Research and Planning in Rural Areas, University of Vechta, Universitätsstraße 5, 49377, Vechta, Germany

    Bodo Damm

  3. Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany

    Birgit Terhorst

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  1. Bettina Neuhäuser
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Correspondence to Bettina Neuhäuser.

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Neuhäuser, B., Damm, B. & Terhorst, B. GIS-based assessment of landslide susceptibility on the base of the Weights-of-Evidence model. Landslides 9, 511–528 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-011-0305-5

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