Assessing the impact of sediment characteristics on vegetation recovery in debris flow fans: A case study of the Ohya Region, Japan

What factors influence natural vegetation recovery in debris flow-prone areas, and how do sediment dynamics play a role? This study investigates these questions in the Ohya debris flow fan, Japan, utilizing various analytical techniques. Through the application of Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification, grain size analysis, accuracy assessment, debris flow analysis, and hotspot analysis, this study assess the distribution of sediments, vegetation classes, and the extent of debris flow events. The findings shed light on the dynamics of vegetation recovery and its relationship with sediment dynamic. The SVM classification outcomes reveal distinct trends in sediment and vegetation distribution along the flow path, particularly noting a significant decrease in vegetation cover from upstream to downstream sections. By employing SVM classification, this study successfully identified 3,282,910 sediment particles and determined their average, minimum, maximum, and standard deviation grain sizes as 7.3 cm, 0.27 cm, 415 cm, and 9.18, respectively. Accuracy assessments of image classification and grain size measurements demonstrate high levels of accuracy, with an overall classification accuracy of 98.82 % and a kappa coefficient of 0.977. Validation of grain size measurements reveals a strong correlation (R² = 0.997 and y = 1.005× + 0.0661) between field-observed sediment sizes and sizes derived from classified images. Debris flow analysis reveals that the total area affected by debris flow in 2022 was 36,232.7 square meters, decreasing to 14,213.9 square meters in 2023. Hotspot analysis identifies regions of both high and low sediment size concentrations, providing valuable insights into sediment distribution patterns. Examining the natural recovery of vegetation, present study identifies vegetation spots across different study sections. Results show that 55 % of naturally recovering vegetation areas are located in regions unaffected by debris flow events between 2022 and 2023. Among the study sections, the area affected by debris flow in 2023 exhibits the lowest density of vegetation spots. Overall, this study highlights the new generation vegetation recovery and its association with sediment dynamic in the Ohya debris flow fan. The findings contribute valuable insights for understanding natural recovery processes in highly dynamic sedimentation areas, informing the development of effective strategies for ecosystem restoration and management in debris flow-prone regions.