Characteristics and causes of natural and human-induced landslides in a tropical mountainous region: the rift flank west of Lake Kivu (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Maki Mateso, Jean-Claude; Bielders, Charles L.; Monsieurs, Eliseet al.
2023 • In Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 23 (2), p. 643 - 666
Earth and Planetary Sciences (all); General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Abstract :
[en] Tropical mountainous regions are often identified as landslide hotspots with growing population pressure. Anthropogenic factors are assumed to play a role in the occurrence of landslides in these densely populated regions, yet the relative importance of these human-induced factors remains poorly documented. In this work, we aim to explore the impact of forest cover dynamics, roads and mining activities on the characteristics and causes of landslides in the rift flank west of Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo). To do so, we compile a comprehensive multi-temporal inventory of 2730 landslides. The landslides are of different types and are grouped into five categories that are adapted to study the impact of human activities on slope stability: old (pre-1950s) and recent (post-1950s) deep-seated landslides, shallow landslides, landslides associated with mining and landslides associated with road construction. We analyse the landslides according to this classification protocol via frequency-area statistics, frequency ratio distribution and logistic regression susceptibility assessment. We find that natural factors contributing to the cause of recent and old deep-seated landslides were either different or changed over time. Under similar topographic conditions, shallow landslides are more frequent, but of a smaller size, in areas where deforestation has occurred since the 1950s. We attribute this size reduction to the decrease in regolith cohesion due to forest loss, which allows for a smaller minimum critical area for landsliding. In areas that were already deforested in the 1950s, shallow landslides are less frequent, larger and occur on less steep slopes. This suggests a combined role between regolith availability and soil management practices that influence erosion and water infiltration. Mining activities increase the odds of landsliding. Landslides associated with mining and roads are larger than shallow landslides but smaller than the recent deep-seated instabilities, and they are controlled by environmental factors that are not present under natural conditions. Our analysis demonstrates the role of human activities on the occurrence of landslides in the Lake Kivu region. Overall, it highlights the need to consider this context when studying hillslope instability characteristics and distribution patterns in regions under anthropogenic pressure. Our work also highlights the importance of using landslide classification criteria adapted to the context of the Anthropocene.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Maki Mateso, Jean-Claude ; Department of Geophysics, Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles, Lwiro, Democratic Republic Congo ; Environmental Sciences Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
Bielders, Charles L.; Environmental Sciences Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
Monsieurs, Elise ; Université de Liège - ULiège ; Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium ; F.R.S.-FNRS, Brussels, Belgium
Depicker, Arthur ; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ku Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Smets, Benoît ; Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium ; Department of Geography, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
Tambala, Théophile; Department of Geophysics, Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles, Lwiro, Democratic Republic Congo
Bagalwa Mateso, Luc; Department of Geophysics, Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles, Lwiro, Democratic Republic Congo
Dewitte, Olivier ; Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
Language :
English
Title :
Characteristics and causes of natural and human-induced landslides in a tropical mountainous region: the rift flank west of Lake Kivu (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Jean-Claude Maki Mateso was supported by the Université catholique de Louvain (International Action Committee (CAI) doctoral scholarship from the International Relations Office) and the development cooperation programme of the Royal Museum for Central Africa with support of the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid of Belgium (RMCA–DGD). Arthur Depicker and Benoît Smets were supported by the PAStECA project (Historical Aerial Photographs and Archives to Assess Environmental Changes in Central Africa; BELSPO BRAIN-be programme, contract no. BR/165/A3/PASTECA; http://pasteca.africamuseum.be/ , last access: 2 February 2023). Elise Monsieurs was supported by an F.R.S.–FNRS PhD scholarship. We wish to thank Bruno Delvaux, Jean Poesen and Veerle Vanacker for their insightful discussions and recommendations regarding this research. A special thank goes to François Kervyn for his constant support in conducting research in the region.The fieldwork was supported by the GeoRisCA (Geo-Risk in Central Africa; BELSPO SSD programme, contract no. SD/RI/02A; http://georiska.africamuseum.be/ , last access: 2 Febuary 2023), RESIST (Remote Sensing and In Situ Detection and Tracking of Geohazards; BELSPO STEREO III programme, contract no. SR/00/305; http://resist.africamuseum.be/ , last access: 2 Febuary 2023) and HARISSA (Natural HAzards, RISks and Society in Africa: developing knowledge and capacities; RMCA–DGD 2019–2024; https://georiska.africamuseum.be/en/activities/harissa , last access: 2 February 2023) projects. This research has been supported by the Université catholique de Louvain (International Action Committee (CAI) doctoral scholarship from the International Relations Office).
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