The role of plants in the prevention of soil-slip: the G-SLIP model and its application on territorial scale through G-XSLIP platform

This paper discusses the role of plants in the prevention of shallow landslides induced by rain (soil slips); these phenomena, related to “hydrogeological instability”, are among the most feared because their evolutionary processes can cause huge damages and losses of human lives when interacting with anthropized areas and infrastructures. The paper first highlights how the plants interact with the soil; then introduces the G-SLIP (Green - Shallow Landslides Instability Prediction) model, i.e. the simplified physically-based SLIP model, modified to predict soil slips at punctual and large scale taking into account the vegetation effects. G-SLIP model is thus applied to a case study of the Parma Apennines (Northern Italy) by using the G-XSLIP platform. In this area, during the intense events of rain between the 4th and 5th of April 2013, numerous landslides occurred, provoking huge damages to structures and infrastructures, and consequent economic losses. The stability analyses carried out with G-XSLIP demonstrate that the presence of vegetation in the study area led to a significant reduction in the triggering of shallow landslides. Finally, an attempt of soil slip mitigation through naturalistic techniques (planting of specific vegetation) is presented.