Investigating the relationships among vegetation characters, saturated hydraulic conductivity and surface morphology at catchment scale by integrating new field data and morphometric analysis

Shallow landslides susceptibility assessment by physically based methods relies on the parametrization of both hydraulic and geotechnical properties of soils, which in turn depend on the conditions of root structures and vegetation cover. Vegetation roots contribute to the shear strength of soils, but their quantitative contribution is currently uncertain. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) is also relevant for slope stability as it influences infiltration rates and runoff. While the literature clearly shows the dependence of Ks on soil texture, there is a general understatement of the role of root structures on this parameter. Moreover, the distribution patterns of vegetation follow relations with surface morphologies which are not fully understood and therefore, are worthy of further investigations. For these reasons, this work focuses on the quantitative assessment of the influence of vegetation on shear strength for shallow landsliding and the investigation of the relationships between vegetation characters, saturated hydraulic conductivity and topographic parameters. Study areas affected by shallow landslides are chosen in the Garfagnana and Alpi Apuane regions (Northern Apennines, Italy), as well as in the Mt. Amiata volcano area (Southern Tuscany, Italy), where field measurements of below-ground vegetation (Root Area Ratio - RAR), above-ground vegetation (Leaf Area Index - LAI and vegetation load) and Ks are acquired inside, in the neighbour and far from shallow landslide sites. To this aim, a multitemporal landslide inventory is already available for the study area. Below-ground data are collected in trench profiles, while above-ground data are acquired by using a digital relascope as well as implementing vegetation cover photography methods. Measurements of Ks are carried out by means of both constant and falling head approaches. The morphometric analysis is performed by using some morphometric variables (eg. slope and hillslope curvatures) derived from a digital elevation model with cell size of 10 m. Morphometric clustering of these variables allows us to extract a set of land units where the distribution of vegetation characters and Ks are assessed. First results show that: a) root reinforcement to soil in terms of root-related cohesion plays a relevant role within the soil depths involved in shallow landslides; b) the weight of above-ground vegetation plays a “mild” negative role on slope stability; c) Ks is correlated with both RAR and soil depth, suggesting possible criteria for the straightforward parametrization of input parameters

Back-analysis of the Abbadia San Salvatore (Mt. Amiata, Italy) debris flow of July 27-28, 2019 using the WEEZARD system

Mountain environments are naturally exposed to debris flows, a mass movement which represents one of the major geomorphological hazard sources for urbanized alluvial fan. In the last decades, climate change has contributed to extreme precipitations increase, making debris flows both larger and more frequent than in the past. The assessment and management of the risk associated with these events, according to UE Flood Directive, is feasible and desirable by using appropriate practices and the best available technology that do not imply excessive costs. In line with the above-mentioned European Directive, we present a multidisciplinary approach for the numerical modelling of the debris flow event that occurred on July 27-28, 2019 in Abbadia San Salvatore, a village located in a catchment of the Mt. Amiata area (Southern Tuscany, Italy). Debris flow was triggered by an extreme rainfall of 110 mm/1 h causing a channelled erosive process, and the subsequent obstruction of a culvert at the entrance to the village, flooding and damaging it. Mt. Amiata is an extinct Pleistocene volcano mainly consisting of trachidacitic lavas characterized by a pervasive saprolite weathering, resulting in a large amount of residual loose debris resting on the hillslopes and along the hydrographic network. Specific geological and engineering-geological field investigations were carried out to assess the availability of debris material and its hydrological behaviour, providing more constraints for numerical modelling. The Green-Ampt model, implemented in the FLO-2D software, was used for the evaluation of discharge values in the hydrographic network. Subsequently, the debris flow modelling was conducted applying the WEEZARD system, composed of a previously developed advanced two-phase debris-flow model (TRENT2D), re-coded as a web service. The mass movement was simulated to quantify erosive and depositional processes that occurred during the event. In addition, a specific approach was implemented to model the effect of the culvert that was clogged during the event. Despite the challenging modelling aspects, the results in terms of debris volume, erosion rates, flooded area and timing of the culvert obstruction, are in agreement with observed data. The WEEZARD system has therefore proved to be an effective tool, in line with the indications of the European Directive. Moreover, the reconstruction was obtained using most of the a priori parameters setting. This shows that the used modelling approach has a good predictive capacity and can therefore be reasonably used to support further predictive hazard mapping analyses. Finally, another important element to be highlighted is that an accurate input model based on the integration of detailed geological-geomorphological investigations is necessary to obtain reliable modelling results

Monitoring slope instability integrating InSAR, GNSS, Total Station and Levelling: a case study in the Eastern slope of the Mt. Amiata volcanic complex, Italy

Landslides are considered one of the major hazards causing economic and human losses worldwide. Slope instability processes are affecting buildings and infrastructures in the towns of the eastern slope of the Mt. Amiata volcanic complex (Tuscany, Italy). These processes are relevant as they expose the inhabitants to risk, moreover their analysis provide hints about the mechanisms and roles of land sliding in the progressive disruption of extinct volcanic edifices. In this study we present the first results of some monitoring and multi-temporal systems which are integrated to investigate the spatial-temporal ground displacement field in the eastern slope of the Mt. Amiata volcanic complex. In detail, we combine InSAR, GNSS, robotic total stations (TS) and levelling techniques to obtain a framework in terms of planimetric and vertical displacements. We apply the Multi-Temporal InSAR approach from 2014 to 2021 using the ESA Copernicus Sentinel-1 data. To perform the interferometry analysis, we implement the single master Stanford Method for Persistent Scatterers (StaMPS) approach for both ascending and descending geometries, and by combining both Line of Sight (LOS) results, we reveal the vertical and E-W components of the displacement. In addition, we perform multi-temporal survey-style GNSS measurements for some tens stations from 2019 to present day. About one hundred reflectors are continuously monitored by TS. Additionally, multi-temporal geometric levelling is performed to assess the vertical movements of selected relevant benchmarks. Finally, results from different monitoring systems are combined to model the ground displacements. The InSAR results reveal mean velocity vectors with standard deviation less than 1 mm/y. The GNSS results have higher signal to noise ratio in the horizontal components with residuals lower than 10 mm. Accuracies of the geometrical levelling and TS results are ca. 1 mm and ca. 5 mm respectively. By combining the results, the magnitude of displacement field is ranging up to ca. 30 cm/y. The different systems provide results each other reasonably coherent in terms of magnitude and direction of the displacement vector. Integration of systems allows us to get solutions where one or more systems fail to provide data (i.e., when few or no PS are obtained by InSAR). Finally, we compare the results with seasonal data like rainfall. Velocities tend to reduce during summer low precipitation periods, while they increase during winter. Long term quantitative monitoring activities will allow us to better understand the spatial-temporal evolution of the landslide processes in the perspective of developing an early warning system

Dismantling a volcanic edifice by deep-seated landslides: the case of the eastern Monte Amiata (Italy)

The Monte Amiata is a volcano located in central Italy composed by trachytic to olivine latitic lava flows and domes emplaced between 305 and 231 ka (Pleistocene). These volcanic products, affected by saprolite alteration processes of spatially variable intensity, unconformably overlie Pliocene marine clayey sediments, as well as the Ligurian units stacked during the Northern Apennines orogeny. The Monte Amiata area has been attracting much attention from research and industry because of its economic importance in the field of geothermal energy, ore deposits and groundwater supply, hence a quite detailed geologic framework is available for this area. Instead, less efforts were made toward the understanding of the widespread gravitational processes affecting the eastern side of the volcanic edifice, often involving the transition between the volcanic rocks and the underlying sedimentary units, where many natural springs arise. The main urban agglomerations developed in this geologic setting, so buildings and infrastructures have been suffering damages caused by landslide processes over large areas. In this context, remote sensing imagery analysis, geomorphological surveys, engineering geology sub-surface investigations and ground displacement monitoring by integrating GNSS, robotic total station and geometric levelling allow us to map the main geomorphological features and infer the geometry and displacement rates of landslides occurring in the eastern side of the Monte Amiata volcano. The results suggest the occurrence of complex gravitational processes with different kinematic characteristics, state of activity and depth of the rupture surfaces. By cross-referencing the new quantitative data collected with the geomorphological evidences and the existing literature, we propose a model for the progressive dismantling of the eastern slopes of the Monte Amiata volcano caused by the interaction among complex gravitational movements affecting, at different structural levels, both the sedimentary units and the volcanic rocks. Moreover, detailed mapping of the saprolite derived by weathering of lava flows is provided and contextualised in the post-volcanic evolution of the Monte Amiata volcano

The new engineering geological map (carta litotecnica) of Tuscany (Italy)

Municipal administrations in Italy must be provided with thematic maps and documentation which describe the geological, geomorphological, lithological, hydrogeological and hydraulic characters useful to manage spatial planning issues. Among these documents, a “Lithotechnical” (or “Lithological-Technical”) map is drawn up, generally at the scale of 1:10,000, by organizing the geological formations into lithotechnical units according to their lithological and physical-mechanical properties. Often, this map also integrates the results of previous field and borehole investigations. However, this map is characterized by a certain degree of subjectivity because it is supported by few specific quantitative data. We present a new method for the regional scale engineering geological classification of sub-surface rock and soil masses obtained by integrating the geological map at the scale of 1:10,000 as a reference document, with a large set of data obtained through the collection and processing of new lithological and physical-mechanical observations and measurements of the outcropping geological formations. The adopted procedure involves both the extensive in situ use of the Schmidt's hammer and the execution of laboratory tests, such as the Slake Durability Test (Franklin & Chandra, 1972) and the determination of the rock unit weight. These tools and tests allow us to acquire a large set of quantitative in situ and laboratory data with known repeatability to obtain a regional scale GIS database providing the classification of the lithological and physical-mechanical characteristics of a wide range of geological formations. As a first step, each outcrop is classified according to a new engineering geological nomenclature system described by the code XXv[y]_[Z] whose values are obtained by integrating: i) a lithological parameter XXv evaluated from both typical characters of the geological formations under analysis and outcrop observations; ii) an engineering geological parameter [y] obtained by the results of the Slake Durability Test; iii) an engineering geological parameter [Z] (Rockmass Quality Index - RQI) evaluated at the outcrop scale on the basis of a large set of sclerometric measurements. The results of outcrop classification are stored into a point topology GIS dataset and are then processed and spatialized in order to assign the XXv[y]_[Z] code to the geological formations, thus obtaining the new engineering geological map. Within the framework of research agreements among Regione Toscana administration, the Consorzio LaMMA, the CNRIGG and the Department of Earth, Environmental and Physical Sciences of the University of Siena, the latter being the leader for their implementation, more than 300 geological formations were analysed and classified, and the new engineering geological GIS map was realized in Tuscany for the provinces of Arezzo, Florence, Lucca, Massa-Carrara, Pistoia, Prato and Siena (ca. 15,000 km2)

Hydrologic-hydraulic modelling in the Vezza catchment (Alpi Apuane, Italy): An area prone to flash floods and debris flows

The Alpi Apuane (Italy) are located a few kilometres from the coast of the Ligurian Sea, and they are characterized by peak elevations up to two thousand meters above sea level, as well as narrow, deeply incised valleys and steep slopes. Due to these morphoclimatic conditions, heavy rains are frequent, causing floods, landslides, and debris flows, particularly within the Vezza catchment. In this work we applied two different hydrological-hydraulic models to this catchment, focusing on the catastrophic debris flow event of June 19, 1996. Firstly, recent, well-documented rainfall events were used to validate the engineering geological model of the study area, then we began to analyse the rainfall-runoff and debris flow event of 1996 in the Cardoso sub-catchment. As models, we used the FLO-2D and a novel experimental model, developed by some of the authors and based on TRENT2D, in which the dynamic of a debris flow is fully coupled with the rainfall-runoff response of a basin. Preliminary results show how the used approach allowed us to gain some insight into the hydrological behaviour and debris flows formation, erosion, transport, and deposition in the Cardoso sub-catchment

Back-Analysis of the Abbadia San Salvatore (Mt. Amiata, Italy) Debris Flow of 27–28 July 2019: An Integrated Multidisciplinary Approach to a Challenging Case Study

On 27–28 July 2019, in a catchment of the Mt. Amiata area (Italy), an extreme rainfall induced a debris flow, which caused a channeled erosive process just upstream of the Abbadia San Salvatore village, the obstruction of a culvert at the entrance to the urban area, and the subsequent flooding of the village. In this paper, we present the back analysis of this event. The complexity of this case study is due to several peculiar characteristics, but above all, to the clogging of the culvert, a phenomenon difficult to simulate numerically. The methodology used for the reconstruction of the event is based on a multidisciplinary approach. A geological field investigation was carried out to characterize the catchment and assess the availability of debris. Then, a cascade of numerical models was employed to reconstruct the debris flow: the FLO-2D software was used to model the runoff along the hydrographic network while the mobile-bed debris flow TRENT2D model, available through the WEEZARD system, was used to quantify both the erosion and deposition processes that occurred during the event. To simulate the culvert clogging, a novel modelling procedure was developed and applied. Despite the challenging framework, the results, in terms of debris volume, erosion rates, deposition area, and timing of the culvert obstruction, agree reasonably well with the observed data. It is worth noticing that these results were obtained mainly using parameters set a priori, namely calibrated on a physical basis. This proves that the proposed methodology is robust and effective, with good predictive capability. Therefore, it may be considered, according to the European Union (EU) Flood Directive, an “appropriate practice and the best available technology that does not imply excessive costs” to support predictive hazard mapping of situations as the one here considered

Back analysis numerical modelling of the 19/06/1996 Cardoso (Stazzema, LU - Italy) flood: from gravitational movements to their evolution in rapid flows

During the June 19th of 1996 a storm involved the Tyrrhenian sector of northern Tuscany (Italy), especially hitting the Versilia and Garfagnana areas. Major consequences and damages, due to the extremely intense precipitation (about 500 mm/13 h and 158 mm/h peak intensity), occurred in the surrounding of the Cardoso village (Versilia river basin, Stazzema, LU), with 14 casualties. At 1.20 p.m., the rainfall peak intensity coupled with the development of a large number of shallow landslides, triggered rapid flows and caused severe flooding in the Cardoso area, which was covered by hundred thousand of cubic meters of deposits. The aim of this study was the characterization of the rapid flows occurred during the event and their back analysis numerical modelling by using a hydrological-hydraulic software. First of all, the amount of mobilized solid volume was assessed, differentiating between materials collapsed from the slopes and those eroded from the low-order drainage network. This goal was obtained by visual interpretation of post-event orthophotos and by morphometric analysis. Subsequently, starting from the rainfall data of the event, the hydrological modelling was performed by the Curve Number method, in order to define flood hydrographs along the drainage network of the Cardoso sub-basins. For the hydraulic modelling, the liquid discharge data were used to calculate debris-graphs of rapid flows, by implementing empirical correlations based on peak discharge, debris volume and channel slope. Different rheological parameters were tested to perform numerical modelling. Back analysis results allow to infer that the mass movements initially started as hyperconcentrated flows in the upper parts of the sub-basins and after evolved into muddy debris flows, which caused flooding of the Cardoso valley. The results are in good agreement with the flooded area extent, as estimated by visual interpretation of both archive photos and aerial orthophotos acquired immediately after the event

Hydrologic-hydraulic modelling in the Vezza catchment (Alpi Apuane, Italy): An area prone to flash floods and debris flows

The Alpi Apuane (Italy) are located a few kilometres from the coast of the Ligurian Sea, and they are characterized by peak elevations up to two thousand meters above sea level, as well as narrow, deeply incised valleys and steep slopes. Due to these morphoclimatic conditions, heavy rains are frequent, causing floods, landslides, and debris flows, particularly within the Vezza catchment. In this work we applied two different hydrological-hydraulic models to this catchment, focusing on the catastrophic debris flow event of June 19, 1996. Firstly, recent, well-documented rainfall events were used to validate the engineering geological model of the study area, then we began to analyse the rainfall-runoff and debris flow event of 1996 in the Cardoso sub-catchment. As models, we used the FLO-2D and a novel experimental model, developed by some of the authors and based on TRENT2D, in which the dynamic of a debris flow is fully coupled with the rainfall-runoff response of a basin. Preliminary results show how the used approach allowed us to gain some insight into the hydrological behaviour and debris flows formation, erosion, transport, and deposition in the Cardoso sub-catchment