GIS-Based Expert Knowledge for Landslide Susceptibility Mapping (LSM): Case of Mostaganem Coast District, West of Algeria

Abstract

Landslides are one of the natural disasters that affect socioeconomic wellbeing. Accordingly, this work aimed to realize a landslide susceptibility map in the coastal district of Mostaganem (Western Algeria). For this purpose, we applied a knowledge-driven approach and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment. We combined landslide-controlling parameters, such as lithology, slope, aspect, land use, curvature plan, rainfall, and distance to stream and to fault, using two GIS tools: the Raster calculator and the Weighted Overlay Method (WOM). Locations with elevated landslide susceptibility were close the urban nucleus and to a national road (RN11); in both sites, we registered the presence of strong water streams. The quality of the modeled maps has been verified using the ground truth landslide map and the Area Under Curve (AUC) of the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (ROC). The study results confirmed the excellent reliability of the produced maps. In this regard, validation based on the ROC indicates an accuracy of 0.686 for the map produced using a knowledge-driven approach. The map produced using the AHP combined with the WOM showed high accuracy (0.753).