Monitoring water fluxes in ash-fall pyroclastic soils covering peri-volcanic slopes of Campania region (southern Italy) to assess hazard to shallow rainfall-induced landslides

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4. Monitoring water fluxes in ash-fall pyroclastic soils covering peri-volcanic slopes of Campania region (southern Italy) to assess hazard to shallow rainfall-induced landslides

The ash-fall pyroclastic soils that mantle the mountains in the peri-volcanic sector of Campania region (southern Italy) represent a special environment where soil-root-water interactions act as predisposing factor for the triggering of deadly fast-moving shallow landslides occurring under rainfall events. Considering the intense development of the vegetation cover, the assessment of hydro-mechanical soil-vegetation coupling is a key factor in the estimation of landslide hazard. To this end, as part of the PNRR GeoSciences IR project, two multi-sensor stations were deployed in south-western and north-eastern slopes of the Sarno Mts. and one in northern slopes of Lattary Mts., in sites representative of geomorphological and stratigraphic conditions typical of the source landslide zones. Each station consists of multiple sensors detecting soil matric suction and soil volumetric water content, deployed at different depths, till the local bedrock. Moreover, each station is provided with sensors measuring meteorological parameters, dataloggers and data transmission devices powered by solar panels. Time series of the first year of monitoring activity show marked seasonal variations at different depths with delayed and damped response dynamics. These observations were preliminarly correlated to precipitation and air temperature time series to assess their effect on soil hydrological variables. The monitoring results are expected to enhance the analysis and forecasting of potential future landslide events, thereby improving hazard assessment.

3rd International Workshop on Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Interaction (RootS2025)

1c. Monitoring evaporation and transpiration fluxes within the RootS environmental domain""