Slope stability time evolution of a shallow landslide restored by Soil and Water Bioengineering (SWBE) techniques: A case study in Northwest Tuscany (Italy)

IF 3.9 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Ecological Engineering Pub Date : 2025-02-28 DOI:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107570

Federico Preti , Andrea Dani , Yamuna Giambastiani , Emanuele Giachi

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The well-known extreme flood event occurred on 19 June 1996 in Versilia, north-western Tuscany, Italy, causing an impressive number of landslides and debris flows, dramatic floods and 15 fatalities. The Tuscany Region financed Soil and Water Bioengineering (SWBE) interventions to restore slope stability and mitigate soil erosion. The Pomezzana landslide was the greatest one restored by such kind of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in 1998, applied in Tuscany for the first time.

The study presents the 2023 landslide monitoring surveys, concerning the vegetation evolution state and the slope stability conditions of two different situations: AdS1-SWBE restored landslide and AdS2-unrestored landslide. The root systems of the main tree species present (chestnut, alder, and hornbeam) have been characterised and used to evaluate the effects of vegetation on slope stability according to the historical monitoring 1998–2013-2023.

The Root Area Ratio (RAR) values obtained in the field, and therefore soil cohesion values also considering the deterioration of the wooden crib wall, drove us to calculate the Factor of Safety (FS) through SSAP 2010™ software. Various scenarios of slope stability were evaluated with the infiltration depth obtained with the landslide back analysis with the event rainfall obtaining the time evolution of the slope stability. The study confirms the technical effectiveness of the slope stabilisation of the SWBE interventions, as in the restoration of superficial landslides triggered by rainfall the research also shows the positive effects of vegetation evolution over slope stability and ecological succession, triggering natural native species succession with increasing soil reinforcement. The results show the SWBE restoration project hastened the slope stabilisation process through the combination of vegetation development and SWBE techniques.

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来源期刊

Ecological Engineering 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

8.00

自引率

5.30%

发文量

293

审稿时长

57 days

期刊介绍： Ecological engineering has been defined as the design of ecosystems for the mutual benefit of humans and nature. The journal is meant for ecologists who, because of their research interests or occupation, are involved in designing, monitoring, or restoring ecosystems, and can serve as a bridge between ecologists and engineers. Specific topics covered in the journal include: habitat reconstruction; ecotechnology; synthetic ecology; bioengineering; restoration ecology; ecology conservation; ecosystem rehabilitation; stream and river restoration; reclamation ecology; non-renewable resource conservation. Descriptions of specific applications of ecological engineering are acceptable only when situated within context of adding novelty to current research and emphasizing ecosystem restoration. We do not accept purely descriptive reports on ecosystem structures (such as vegetation surveys), purely physical assessment of materials that can be used for ecological restoration, small-model studies carried out in the laboratory or greenhouse with artificial (waste)water or crop studies, or case studies on conventional wastewater treatment and eutrophication that do not offer an ecosystem restoration approach within the paper.