Abstract
Landslides are a serious threat to the sustainability of mountain ecosystems. In India, the Himalayan region suffered substantial economic loss and loss of life in the last couple of decades due to frequent landslides. However, identifying potential landslide hazard zones (LHZ) in eastern Himalayan regions helps to manage better and avoid economic losses. This study mapped LHZ of Mangan block, North Sikkim district, Sikkim state (India) in the eastern Himalayas, using GIS techniques. We carried out a landslide survey and characterized the soils at 1:10,000 scale, and used the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method to map the LHZ using environmental (geology, land use/land cover, rainfall), terrain (elevation, slope, aspect, drainage density, lineament density), and soil (depth, texture, gravel content, erosion, land capability class) parameters. Relative rating values were assigned for the subclasses of each thematic layer based on their corresponding impact on the landslide triggers. Further, within a thematic layer, each class was assigned an ordinal rating from 1 to 9. The LHZ map of the Mangan block was produced based on weighted overly techniques. Higher weight was assigned for more influence, and lower weight was assigned for less influence of landslides. The results showed that high-intensity annual rainfall (~ 3000 mm), elevation (1000–3000 m), coarse soil texture, strong to steep slope (30–60%), geology (inter-banded Chlorite-sericlie and banded Migmatile), and high drainage density are the main causal factors of landslides. The LHZ map shows that the landslide hazard is moderate at 47%, high at 46%, and very high in 4.5% of the study area. Landslide hazard is high in areas with soils of Ringhim (RGM), Nampatam (NPM), Kazor (KZR), Singhik (SGK), and Siyam (SYM) series than in other soils. The LHZ map was validated using the field observations, and most of the recorded landslides (rockfall, debris flow, slope failure induced soil mass toppling, and earth flow) occurred in the moderate to high LHZs on the map. The LHZ map can be used for landslide hazard prevention, infrastructure development planning, and geo-environmental development in the Mangan block.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acharyya, S. K. (1989). The Daling group, its nomenclature, tectonostratigraphy and structural grains: With notes on their possible equivalents. In daling group and related rocks. Geological Survey of India, 22, 5–14.
Ahmed, B. (2015). Landslide susceptibility mapping using multi-criteria evaluation techniques in Chittagong Metropolitan Area, Bangladesh. Landslides, 12(6), 1077–1095. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-014-0521-x
Alexander, D. (2005). Vulnerability to landslides. In T. Glade, M. Anderson, & M. J. Crozier (Eds.), Landslide hazard and risk (pp. 175–198). Wiley.
Al-Subhi Al-Harbi, K. M. (2001). Application of the AHP in project management. International Journal of Construction Project Management, 19, 19–27.
Anbalagan, R. (1992). Landslide hazard evaluation and zonation mapping in mountainous terrain. Journal of Engineering Geology, 32, 269–277.
Anbalagan, R., Kumar, R., Lakshmanan, K., Parida, S., & Neethu, S. (2015). Landslide hazard zonation mapping using frequency ratio and fuzzy logic approach, a case study of Lachung Valley, Sikkim. Geoenvironmental Disasters, 2, 1–17.
Arabameri, A., Pradhan, B., & Rezaei, K. (2019). Gully erosion zonation mapping using integrated geographically weighted regression with certainty factor and random forest models in GIS. Journal of Environmental Management, 232, 928–942.
Banerjee, P., Ghose, M. K., & Pradhan, R. (2018). Analytic hierarchy process and information value method based landslide susceptibility mapping and vehicle vulnerability assessment along a highway in Sikkim Himalaya. Arabian Journal of Geosciences. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-018-3488-4
Basu, S. K. (2013). Geology of Sikkim state and Darjeeling district of West Bengal. Geological Society of India.
Baynes, F. J. (2008). Anticipating problem soils on linear projects. In Conference proceedings on problem soils in South Africa, 3–4 November 9–21.
Bera, A., Mukhopadhyay, B., & Das, D. (2018). Morphometric analysis of Adula River Basin in Maharashtra, India using GIS and Remote Sensing techniques. Geo-spatial data in natural resources (pp. 13–35). Gatha Cognition. https://doi.org/10.21523/gcb5.1702
Bera, A., Mukhopadhyay, B. P., & Das, D. (2019). Landslide Hazard Zonation Mapping using multiple criteria analysis with the help of GIS techniques: A case study from Eastern Himalayas, Namchi, South Sikkim. Natural Hazards, 96, 935–959.
Borrelli, L., Ciurleo, M., & Gullà, G. (2018). Shallow landslide susceptibility assessment in granitic rocks using GIS-based statistical methods: The contribution of the weathering grade map. Landslides, 15, 1127–1142.
Calligaris, C., Poretti, G., Tariq, S., & Melis, M. T. (2013). First steps towards a landslide inventory map of the Central Karakoram National Park. European Journal of Remote Sensing, 46(1), 272–287. https://doi.org/10.5721/eujrs20134615
Chen, Y., Khan, S., & Paydar, Z. (2010). To retire or expand? A fuzzy GIS-based spatial multi-criteria evaluation framework for irrigated agriculture. Irrigation and Drainage, 59(2), 174–188. https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.470
Chorley, R. J., Schumm, S. A., & Sugden, D. E. (1985). Geomorphology. Methuen.
Chowdhuri, I., Pal, S. C., Arabameri, A., Thi Ngo, P. T., Chakrabortty, R., Malik, S., Das, B., & Roy, P. (2020). Ensemble approach to develop landslide susceptibility map in landslide dominated Sikkim Himalayan region, India. Environmental Earth Sciences, 79, 476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-020-09227-5
Chowdhuri, I., Pal, S. C., Chakrabortty, R., Malik, S., Das, B., Roy, P., & Sen, K. (2021). Spatial prediction of landslide susceptibility using projected storm rainfall and land use in Himalayan region. Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02252-z
Dai, F., & Lee, C. (2002). Landslide characteristics and slope instability modelling using GIS, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Geomorphology, 42, 213–228.
Dai, F. C., Lee, C. F., Li, J., & Xu, Z. W. (2001). Assessment of landslide susceptibility on the natural terrain of Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Environmental Geology, 40, 381–391.
Dai, F. C., Lee, C. F., & Ngai, Y. Y. (2002). Landslide risk assessment and management: An overview. Engineering Geology, 64(1), 65–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0013-7952(01)00093-X
Das, D. K., & Agarwal, R. P. (2002). Physical properties of soil. Fundamental of soil science (pp. 75–77). Indian Society of Soil Science.
Das, S., Mallik, J., Dhankhar, S., Suthar, N., Singh, A. K., Dutta, V., Gupta, U., Kumar, G., & Singh, R. (2020). Application of Fracture induced electromagnetic radiation (FEMR) technique to detect landslide-prone slip planes. Natural Hazards. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-020-03883-3
Dhakal, A. S., Amada, T., & Aniya, M. (2000). Landslide hazard mapping and its evaluation using GIS: An investigation of sampling schemes for grid-cell based quantitative method. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 66, 981–989.
Dikshit, A., Sarkar, R., Pradhan, B., Segoni, S., & Alamri, A. M. (2020). Rainfall induced landslide studies in Indian Himalayan region: A critical review. Applied Sciences, 10, 2466. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10072466
Feizizadeh, B., & Blaschke, T. (2012). GIS-multicriteria decision analysis for landslide susceptibility mapping: comparing three methods for the Urmia Lake basin, Iran. Natural Hazards, 65(3), 2105–2128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-012-0463-3
Froude, M. J., & Petley, D. (2018). Global fatal landslide occurrence from 2004 to 2016. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 18, 2161–2181.
Geological Survey of India. (2020). Government of India; Retrieved from Dec 15, 2018. https://www.gsi.gov.in.
Greenway, D. R. (1987). Vegetation and slope stability. In M. G. Anderson & K. S. Richards (Eds.), slope stability (pp. 187–230). Wiley.
Guzzetti, F., Carrara, A., Cardinali, M., & Reichenbach, P. (1999). Landslide hazard evaluation: A review of current techniques and their application in a multi-scale study, Central Italy. Geomorphology, 31(1), 181–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(99)00078-1
Jackson, M. L. (1973). Soil chemical analysis. Prentice Hall of India (Pvt.) Ltd.
Kanwal, S., Atif, S., & Shafiq, M. (2016). GIS-based landslide susceptibility mapping of northern areas of Pakistan, a case study of Shigar and Shyok Basins. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2016.1220023
Karim, Z., Hadji, R., & Hamed, Y. (2019). GIS-based approaches for the landslide susceptibility prediction in Setif Region (NE Algeria). Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 37, 359–374.
Knapen, A., Kitutu, M. G., Poesen, J., Breugelmans, W., Deckers, J., & Muwanga, A. (2006). Landslides in a densely populated county at the footsteps of Mount Elgon (Uganda): Characteristics and causal factors. Geomorphology, 73, 149–165.
Kolat, C., Ulusay, R., & Suzen, M. L. (2012). Development of geotechnical microzonation model for Yenisehir (Bursa, Turkey) located at a seismically active region. Engineering Geology, 127, 36–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2011.12.014
Lalitha, M., Anil Kumar, K. S., Nair, K. M., Dharumarajan, S., Koyal, A., Khandal, S., Kaliraj, S., & Hegde, R. (2020). Evaluating pedogenesis and soil Atterberg limits for inducing landslides in the Western Ghats, Idukki District of Kerala, South India. Natural Hazards. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-020-04472-0
Lee, S., Ryu, J. H., Won, J. S., & Park, H. J. (2004). Determination and application of the weights for landslide susceptibility mapping using an artificial neural network. Engineering Geology, 71, 289–302.
Mandal, S., & Maiti, R. (2015). Impact assessment of hydrologic attributes and slope instability. Semi-quantitative approaches for landslide assessment and prediction (pp. 95–121). Springer.
Martha, T. R., Roy, P., & Vinod Kumar, K. (2017). Assessment of the valley-blocking ‘So Bhir’ landslide near Mantam village, North Sikkim, India, using satellite images. Current Science, 113, 1228–1229.
Mondal, S., & Mandal, S. (2020). Data-driven evidential belief function (EBF) model in exploring landslide susceptibility zones for the Darjeeling Himalaya, India. Geocarto International, 35, 818–856.
Montgomery, D. R., Schmidt, K. M., Dietrich, W. E., & Greenberg, H. M. (2000). Forest clearing and regional landsliding in the Pacific Northwest. Geology, 28, 311–314.
Mugagga, F., Kakembo, V., & Buyinza, M. (2011). A characterisation of the physical properties of soil and the implications for landslide occurrence on the slopes of Mount Elgon. Eastern Uganda: Natural Hazards. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-011-9896-3
Nsengiyumva, J. B., Luo, G., & Nahayo, L. (2018). Landslide susceptibility assessment using spatial multi-criteria evaluation model in Rwanda. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15, 243.
Pal, S. C., & Chowdhuri, I. (2019). GIS-based spatial prediction of landslide susceptibility using frequency ratio model of Lachung River basin, North Sikkim, India. SN Applied Sciences, 1, 416.
Pal, S. C., Das, B., & Malik, S. (2019). Potential landslide vulnerability zonation using integrated analytic hierarchy process and GIS technique of upper Rangit catchment area West Sikkim India. Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-019-01009-2
Pandey, A., Dabral, P. P., Chowdary, V. M., & Yadav, N. K. (2008). Landslide hazard zonation using remote sensing and GIS: A case study of Dikrong river basin, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Environmental Geology, 54, 1517–1529.
Pandey, V. K., Sharmaa, K. K., Pourghasemic, H. R., & Bandooni, S. K. (2019). Sedimentological characteristics and application of machine learning techniques for landslide susceptibility modelling along the highway corridor Nahan to Rajgarh (Himachal Pradesh), India. CATENA, 182, 104150.
Patanakanog, B. (2001). Landslide hazard potential area in 3 dimension by remote sensing and GIS technique. Land Development Department, Thailand. www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/landslides/help/drainage
Peethambaran, B., Anbalagan, R., Kanungo, D. P., Goswami, A., & Shihabudheen, K. V. (2020). A comparative evaluation of supervised machine learning algorithms for township level landslide susceptibility zonation in parts of Indian Himalayas. CATENA, 195, 104751.
Pham, B. T., Nguyen-Thoia, T., Qi, C., Phong, T. V., Doue, J., Ho, L. S., Le, H. V., & Prakash, I. (2020). Coupling RBF neural network with ensemble learning techniques for landslide susceptibility mapping. CATENA, 195, 104805.
Ramli, M. F., Yusof, N., Yusoff, M. K., Juahir, H., & Shafri, H. Z. M. (2010). Lineament mapping and its application in landslide hazard assessment: A review. Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, 69, 215–233.
Rawat, M. S., Rawat, B. S., Joshi, V., & Kimothi, M. M. (2012). Statistical analysis of landslide in south district, Sikkim, India: Using remote sensing and GIS. Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food Technology, 2, 47–61.
Reddy, R. S. (2006). Methodology for correlation of soil series in soil survey and mapping. Agropedology, 16(1), 1–11.
Roth, R. A. (1983). Factors affecting landslide susceptibility in San Mateo County, California. Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, 20, 353–372.
Saaty, T. L. (1980). The analytic hierarchy process. McGraw-Hill.
Saha, A., Pal, S. C., Santosh, M., Janizadeh, S., Chowdhuri, I., Norouzi, A., Roy, P., & Chakrabortty, R. (2021). Modelling multi-hazard threats to cultural heritage sites and environmental sustainability: The present and future scenarios. Journal of Cleaner Production, 320, 128713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128713
Samra, J. S., & Sharma, U. C. (2002). Soil erosion and conservation (p. 162). Indian Society of Soil Science, IARI.
Sengupta, A., Gupta, S., & Anbarasu, K. (2010). Rainfall thresholds for the initiation of landslide at Lanta Khola in north Sikkim, India. Natural Hazards, 52, 31–42.
Sharma, L. P., Patel, N., Debnath, P., & Ghose, M. K. (2012). Assessing landslide vulnerability from soil characteristics- a GIS-based analysis. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 5, 789–796.
Shit, P. K., Bhunia, G. S., & Maiti, R. (2016). Potential landslide susceptibility mapping using weighted overlay model (WOM). Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, 2, 1–10.
Sidle, R. C., Pearce, A. J., & Loughlin, C. L. O. (1985). Hillslope stability and land-use (p. 125). American Geophysical Union.
Singh, P., Gupta, A., & Singh, M. (2014). Hydrological inferences from watershed analysis for water resource management using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Science, 17, 111–121.
Soil Survey Division Staff. (2017). ‘Soil survey manual.’ USDA agriculture handbook No 18. Government Printing Office.
Soil Survey Staff. (2014). Keys to soil taxonomy (12th ed.). USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Varnes, D. J. (1984). Landslide hazard zonation: A review of principles and practice. UNESCO Press.
Walkley, A., & Black, I. A. (1934). An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter, and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science, 37, 29–38.
Yalcin, A. (2005). An investigation on Ardesen (Rize) region on the basis of landslide susceptibility. In Ph D Thesis, Karadeniz Technical University.
Zhang, G., Cai, Y., Zheng, Z., Zhen, J., Liu, Y., & Haung, K. (2016). Integration of the statistical index method and the analytic hierarchy process technique for the assessment of landslide susceptibility in Huizhou, China. CATENA, 142, 233–244.
Acknowledgements
We thank the Indian Council of Agricultural Research for funding this study. We also thank the villagers in Mangan block for providing information regarding landslide areas and the causes of observed landslides during our field inventory.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
About this article
Cite this article
Srinivasan, R., Vasu, D., Suputhra, S.A. et al. A GIS-based Spatial Prediction of Landslide Hazard Zones and Mapping in an Eastern Himalayan Hilly Region Using Large Scale Soil Mapping and Analytical Hierarchy Process. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 50, 1915–1930 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-022-01579-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-022-01579-8