Study on the Impact of Vegetation on Landslides under Heavy Rainfall Conditions: A Case Study of Chinese Fir Forests in Sisui Town

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-946-9_33How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Landslide; Vegetation; Heavy Rainfall; Chinese-fir; Sisui Town

Abstract

Landslides are common geological disasters in southern mountainous regions, and vegetation has a dual effect on slope stability: root systems can reinforce soil and enhance shear strength; however, canopy interception of rainfall increases soil moisture content, potentially reducing shear strength. This study investigates the mechanisms by which vegetation influences landslide risk under heavy rainfall conditions, taking the landslide event in Sisui Town, Pingyuan County, Guangdong Province on June 16, 2024, as an example. By comprehensively analyzing the spatial distribution of landslide sites, vegetation types, soil characteristics, and rainfall data, we focus on the impact of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) plantations on landslide occurrence. Results indicate that despite high vegetation coverage, landslides frequently occur in areas densely populated with Chinese fir forests. Chinese fir is a shallow-rooted species lacking a prominent taproot, with roots mainly distributed in the surface soil layer, providing limited reinforcement to deeper soil. Under heavy rainfall, the canopy of Chinese fir intercepts large amounts of precipitation, increasing soil saturation. The shallow root system cannot offer sufficient anchoring force, leading to trees sliding along with root-soil complexes during landslides. The study reveals the significant influence of vegetation types and root characteristics on landslide occurrence, highlighting that large-scale monoculture plantations in landslide-prone areas may reduce ecosystem stability and increase landslide risk. The findings provide scientific evidence for landslide risk assessment and mitigation in Sisui Town and similar regions, offering important theoretical and practical implications for optimizing mountainous land-use planning, improving vegetation configuration, and enhancing landslide early warning capabilities.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Pingxin Wei
AU  - Qinghua Gong
AU  - Shaoxiong Yuan
AU  - Jun Wang
AU  - Zhihua Zhou
AU  - Bowen Liu
AU  - Jingye Chen
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/04
TI  - Study on the Impact of Vegetation on Landslides under Heavy Rainfall Conditions: A Case Study of Chinese Fir Forests in Sisui Town
BT  - Proceedings of the 11th Annual Meeting of Risk Analysis Council of China Association for Disaster Prevention (RAC 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 253
EP  - 261
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-946-9_33
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-946-9_33
ID  - Wei2026
ER  -