Data-driven modeling reveals net primary productivity recovery of
post-seismic landslides after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake
Abstract
Strong earthquakes often trigger large-scale secondary geological
disasters, causing significant damage to local ecosystems. Among these,
landslides represent one of the most severe types of disasters, leading
to substantial vegetation loss. Consequently, post-disaster vegetation
recovery (Vegetation Productive Capability, VPC) has received widespread
attention. While some studies have assessed post-disaster vegetation
recovery, they often lack predictions for landslides VPC and fail to
fully explore the intricate nonlinear relationships between landslide
vegetation recovery and environmental factors. To address these gaps,
this study comprehensively evaluates post-disaster vegetation recovery
and subsequently conducts modeling analyses on the evaluation results
using data-driven techniques. Specifically, we employ Moderate
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Net Primary Productivity
(NPP) data and a Generalized Additive Model (GAM) to assess and predict
VPC for 25,945 landslides triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.
Experimental results demonstrate the GAM model’s effectiveness in
predicting vegetation recovery in landslides, achieving a good fit
(AUC=0.798). Random cross-validation (mean AUC=0.797) and spatial
hold-out cross-validation (mean AUC=0.752) further validate its
efficacy. Moreover, This study also explores complex nonlinear
relationships between recovery and environmental factors, revealing
significant impacts of population density, slope, temperature,
precipitation, and residual vegetation. However, the impacts of terrain
factors, specifically profile and plan curvature, show considerable
uncertainty. This study marks a significant step towards developing
robust methodologies for landslides VPC prediction, paving the way for
enhanced post-disaster ecological restoration strategies.