In April, the project “TREE distribution patterns: HillslopE failuRe preventiOn through forest management” TREE:HERO have been launched. The project is part of a larger research programme dedicated to hydrogeological instability with the scope of improving prevision, prevention and risk mitigation, with specific reference to landslides. Landslides, in fact, are one of the plagues of Italian mountainous and hilly landscape causing serious impact on population, properties and infrastructures.
TREE:HERO aims to develop predictive models for producing landslide susceptibility maps taking into account the effects provided by the forest and its dynamics due to forest management and disturbs (natural and artificial). A specific three-dimensional and physical-based model, able to include the forest stand characteristics besides geotechnical and hydrological properties, will be developed and implemented for assessing the slope stability and for simulating the prevention effects of specific forests and the effectiveness of different forest management strategies.
TREE:HERO will provide to Public Administration, consultancy companies and practitioners, useful and user-friendly tools for planning forestry operations considering hillslope stability besides wood production according to the National and Regional legislation, and for updating Regional/Local Information System with landslide susceptibility maps.
The expected results will be both of scientific and technical interest: (i) an improvement of knowledge about forest patterns and dynamics; (ii) an accurate methodology to obtain forest patterns from standard forest data and to relate them with the additional soil reinforcement provided by root systems; (iii) a GIS-integrated tool for assessing rainfall-induced instabilities on vegetated hillslope able to produce and update susceptibility maps; (iv) guidelines for reviewing/updating forest masterplans and for planning forest management; and (v) recommendations in improving the Regional policies that promote best management practices for reducing hydrogeological risk.
The project is fully funded by Fondazione Cariplo, and Mountain University (UNIMONT) – the Edolo campus of the University of Milan – (by Prof. Gian Battista Bischetti) will coordinate three research units: UNIMONT-DiSAA of Università degli Studi di Milano, TeSAF Department of Università degli Studi di Padova (local coordinator prof. Tommaso Sitzia) and BFH-HAFL (local coordiantor prof. Massimiliano Schwarz).