Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhessd-3-3225-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhessd-3-3225-2015
11 May 2015
 | 11 May 2015
Status: this preprint was under review for the journal NHESS but the revision was not accepted.

Spatial analysis of damaged vegetation in the Mianyuan River basin after the Wenchuan Earthquake

H. Z. Zhang, J. R. Fan, X. M. Wang, T. H. Chi, and L. Peng

Abstract. The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake destroyed large areas of vegetation. Presently, these areas of damaged vegetation are at various stages of recovery. In this study, we present a probabilistic approach for slope stability analysis that quantitatively relates data on earthquake-damaged vegetation with slope stability in a given river basin. The Mianyuan River basin was selected for model development, and earthquake-damaged vegetation and post-earthquake recovery conditions were identified via the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), from multi-temporal (2001–2014) remote sensing images. DSAL (digital elevation model, slope, aspect, and lithology) spatial zonation was applied to characterize the survival environments of vegetation, which were used to discern the relationships between successful vegetation regrowth and environmental conditions. Finally, the slope stability susceptibility model was trained through multivariate analysis of earthquake-damaged vegetation and its controlling factors (i.e. topographic environments and material properties). Application to the Subao River basin validated the proposed model, showing that most of the damaged vegetation areas have high susceptibility levels (88.1% > susceptibility level 3, and 61.5% > level 4). Our modelling approach may also be valuable for use in other regions prone to landslide hazards.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
H. Z. Zhang, J. R. Fan, X. M. Wang, T. H. Chi, and L. Peng
 
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Status: closed
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
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Status: closed
Status: closed
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
Printer-friendly Version - Printer-friendly version Supplement - Supplement
H. Z. Zhang, J. R. Fan, X. M. Wang, T. H. Chi, and L. Peng
H. Z. Zhang, J. R. Fan, X. M. Wang, T. H. Chi, and L. Peng

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Short summary
The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake destroyed large areas of vegetation. Presently, these areas of damaged vegetation are at various stages of recovery. In this study, we present a probabilistic approach for slope stability analysis that quantitatively relates data on earthquake-damaged vegetation with slope stability in a given river basin. Presently, these recovered vegetation helped stabilize the slopes. Nevertheless, there remains potential for future slope instability in these recovered areas.
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