- Title : An Evaluation of the Applicability of Hillslope Position Classification on Slope Management: The Case for Comparing Landslide and Forest Land-use Conversion Points
- Author : Shim Woojin, Jang Hyojin, AN Yoosoon, PARK Jisoo, CHOI Jungsun, PARK Soojin
- Journal : The Geographical Journal of Korea
- Publication Date : June, 2021
- Abstract
With the appreciation of economic value gained from utilizing forest land, development pressures are gradually increasing. This calls for a greater need to set landslide preventive measures. Therefore, this study presents the hillslope position classification to measure vulnerabilities of land usage at the level of hillslope position and aims to evaluate its applicability. An analysis on the frequency of landslides by hillslope position, led to the finding that more than 80% of the total landslides occurred on the BS(M), SH(M), and FS(M) slopes of the forest land. Meanwhile, more than 50% of the forest land use conversions were made in the three hillslope positions with the highest frequency of landslides. When these results were further analyzed at the district unit, high-risk slopes were mostly diverted in administrative districts with high population density, while high-risk slopes were least converted in administrative districts with low population density. Lastly, the development pressure of each hillslope position was evaluated with permitted area of forest land use conversion and the result of the hillslope position classification. The developed and utilized flatland around the river had low development pressure. Whereas, the development pressure was high on open slope around the mountain stream and the rectilinear slope that could easily be exploited into a segmented open slope. Based on these findings, this paper suggests that hillslope positions can theoretically and practically specify the high-risk area as a spatial range. Furthermore, by comparing local government practices of forest land use conversion by district, this study provides implications for policy application.
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