THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANDSLIDE OCCURRENCE AND LAND USE AND LAND COVER

Landslides are widespread natural phenomena that may be triggered or intensified by human activities. In this context, this study aimed to analyse the relationship between land use and land cover (LULC) changes (LUCC) and landslides occurrence in Petrópolis, Brazil, using the Frequency Ratio (FR). We found 73 and 43 landslide scars in 2011 and 2022, respectively. In 2011, the most significant relationship was with non-forest natural formation, while in 2022, it was with the non-vegetated area. These results suggested that sparsely vegetated regions may reduce the soil shear strength. Finally, the LUCC analysis indicated that the conversion of forest areas was the most influential in the 2011 event, while the farming conversion into less vegetated areas presented greater FR values in 2022. Although this method presented relevant results, we suggest a deeper analysis of the relationship between LULC/LUCC and landslides, including understanding vegetation cover influence on soil structure.