Influence of successive landslides on topographic changes revealed by multitemporal high-resolution UAS-based DEM

Abstract Landslides are recognized as dominant geomorphic events of morphological evolution in most mountainous and hilly landscapes. However, the lack of multitemporal high-resolution topographic data has resulted in a lack of quantitative estimates of topographic changes influenced by successive landslides. Taking a typical hillslope with successive loess landslides in the Heifangtai loess tableland, China, as an example, we conducted four unmanned aerial system (UAS) surveys and created corresponding high-resolution digital elevation models (HRDEMs) and orthophotos. We found that multitemporal UAS surveys have become a powerful new approach for addressing local topographic changes and evolution over a relatively long time series. Moreover, landslides can leave persistent geomorphic imprints on hillslope topography. The frequency distributions of topographic indexes are significantly influenced by successive landslides. The mean slope gradient, roughness and local relief decreased with successive landslide occurrences, whereas the mean topographic wetness index (TWI) increased. However, the mean slope aspect was almost unchanged by successive landslides. Furthermore, analysis of the coefficient of variation demonstrates that the frequency distribution of the slope gradient becomes more dispersed with landslide occurrences, while the slope aspect and TWI become more concentrated. The slope gradient changes with elevation. More broadly, this study provides new insights into the prediction of the local topographic feature changes and morphology evolution trends caused by successive landslides.