Strategic protection of landslide vulnerable mountains for biodiversity conservation under land-cover and climate change impacts

Abstract

Significance Landslides are triggered more often by human-induced changes, such as deforestation, infrastructure building, and increasing precipitation extremes, because of climate change. The huge economic and societal loss calls for a more cost-effective way to reduce risks and ensure sustainable development. Land-cover and land-use changes not only increase landslide susceptibility but also drive habitat loss and species extinctions. The high spatial overlap between landslide susceptibility and biodiversity in mountains provides an opportunity to achieve co-benefits in conservation and development. The identification of vulnerable mountains with both high biodiversity and landslide susceptibility prioritizes the regions for expansion of protected areas, forest conservation, and restoration, providing a nature-based solution to mitigate landslide risks through the protection of natural habitat.