Application of remote sensing data and GIS for landslide risk assessment as an environmental threat to Izmir city (west Turkey)

In this study, landslide risk assessment for Izmir city (west Turkey) was carried out, and the environmental effects of landslides on further urban development were evaluated using geographical information systems and remote sensing techniques. For this purpose, two different data groups, namely conditioning and triggering data, were produced. With the help of conditioning data such as lithology, slope gradient, slope aspect, distance from roads, distance from faults and distance from drainage lines, a landslide susceptibility model was constructed by using logistic regression modelling approach. The accuracy assessment of the susceptibility map was carried out by the area under curvature (AUC) approach, and a 0.810 AUC value was obtained. This value shows that the map obtained is successful. Due to the fact that the study area is located in an active seismic region, earthquake data were considered as primary triggering factor contributing to landslide occurrence. In addition to this, precipitation data were also taken into account as a secondary triggering factor. Considering the susceptibility data and triggering factors, a landslide hazard index was obtained. Furthermore, using the Aster data, a land-cover map was produced with an overall kappa value of 0.94. From this map, settlement areas were extracted, and these extracted data were assessed as elements at risk in the study area. Next, a vulnerability index was created by using these data. Finally, the hazard index and the vulnerability index were combined, and a landslide risk map for Izmir city was obtained. Based on this final risk map, it was observed that especially south and north parts of the Izmir Bay, where urbanization is dense, are threatened to future landsliding. This result can be used for preliminary land use planning by local governmental authorities.     

Landslide susceptibility mapping in an area of underground mining using the multicriteria decision analysis method

Landslides are geomorphological phenomena that affect anthropogenic and natural features on the Earth’s surface. Many previous studies have identified several factors that have contributed to landslides. Among these factors are physical characteristics, such as slope, aspect, and land cover, of Earth’s surface. Moreover, landslides can be triggered by human activities such as underground mining. This study aims to identify landslide susceptibility areas by analyzing landslide-related factors, including land subsidence triggered by underground mining. The area of interest was Kozlu, Turkey, where underground mining has been in progress for the past 100 years. Thus, to identify landslide risk zones, the multicriteria decision analysis method, together with the analytical hierarchy method, was used. The datasets included were topography, land cover, geological settings, and mining-induced land subsidence. The spatial extent of land subsidence was estimated using a previously published model. A landslide susceptibility map (LSM) was developed using a purposely developed GIS-based software. The results were compared with a terrain deformation map, which was developed in a separate study using the differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry (DInSAR) technique. The results showed a substantial correlation between the LSM and DInSAR map. Furthermore, it was found that ~?88% of the very high and high landslide risk areas coincided with location of the past landslide events. These facts suggest that the algorithm and data sources used were sufficient to produce a sufficiently accurate LSM, which may be used for various purposes such as urban planning.     

Land use change and landslide characteristics analysis for community-based disaster mitigation

On August 8, 2009, Typhoon Morakot brought heavy rain to Taiwan, causing numerous landslides and debris flows in the Taihe village area of Meishan Township, Chiayi County, in south-central Taiwan. In the Taihe land is primary used for agriculture and land use management may be a factor in the area’s landslides. This study explores Typhoon Morakot-induced landslides and land use changes between 1999 and 2009 using GIS with the aid of field investigation. Spot 5 satellite images with a resolution of 2.5 m are used for landslide interpretation and manually digitalized in GIS. A statistical analysis for landslide frequency–area distribution was used to identify the landslide characteristics associated with different types of land use. There were 243 landslides with a total area of 2.75 km² in the study area. The area is located in intrinsically fragile combinations of sandstone and shale. Typhoon Morakot-induced landslides show a power–law distribution in the study area. Landslides were mainly located in steep slope areas containing natural forest and in areas planted with bamboo, tea, and betel nut. Land covered with natural forest shows the highest landslide ratio, followed by bamboo, betel nut, and tea. Landslides thus show a higher ratio in areas planted with shallow root vegetation such as bamboo, betel nut, and tea. Furthermore, the degree of basin development is proportional to the landslide ratio. The results show that a change in vegetation cover results in a modified landslide area and frequency and changed land use areas have higher landslide ratios than non-changed. Land use management and community-based disaster prevention are needed in mountainous areas of Taiwan for hazard mitigation.     

Spatiotemporal changes of landscape pattern in response to deforestation in Northeastern Turkey: a case study in Rize

Recognition and understanding of landscape dynamics as a historical legacy of disturbances are necessary for sustainable management of forest ecosystems. This study analyzes spatial and temporal changes in land use and forest cover patterns in a typical mountain forest area in Rize Forest Enterprise of the Northeastern part of Turkey. The area is investigated by evaluated the temporal changes of spatial structure of forest conditions through spatial analysis of forest cover type maps from 1984 and 2007 using GIS and FRAGSTATS. The quantative evidences presented here showed that there were drastic changes in the temporal and spatial dynamics of land use/forest cover. As an overall change between 1984 and 2007, there was a net decrease of 2.30% in total forested areas. On one hand, productive forest areas decreased 12,506 ha, on the other hand, degraded forest areas increased 14,805 ha. In examining the changes of crown closure and development stages of forest ecosystem during the study period, the forest stand area with medium crown closures increased. Regenerated area increased while the other development stages were left to grow to mature development stages in the period. These results regarding to crown closure and development stage showed that forest quality has increased but total forest areas decreased. This is partially due to out-migration of rural population in Rize and Cayeli towns. In terms of spatial configuration, analysis of the metrics revealed that landscape structure in Study area had changed substantially over the 23-year study period, resulting in fragmentation of the landscape as indicated by the large patch numbers and the smaller mean patch sizes due to heavy timber subtraction, illegal cutting, and uncontrolled stand treatments.     

Selection of MSW landfill site for Konya, Turkey using GIS and multi-criteria evaluation

Landfill is a common solution for the final disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) in Turkey. Landfill siting is an extremely difficult task to accomplish because the site selection process depends on different factors and regulations. To ensure that an appropriate site is chosen, a systematic process should be developed and followed. Unsuccessful landfill siting is typically the result of strong public opposition. In this study, candidate sites for an appropriate landfill area in Cumra County of Konya City are determined by using the integration of geographic information systems (GIS) and multi-criteria evaluation (MCE). ArcGIS 9.0 software and its extensions were used as the GIS tool since it is able to perform suitability analysis using MCE analysis. To identify appropriate landfill areas in the Cumra district, eight input map layers including proximity to municipal and local wells and irrigational canals, distance from transportation routes and rails, distance from archaeological sites, distance from urban areas, land use/land cover, and land slope are used in constraint mapping. A final map was generated which identifies regions showing suitability for the location of the landfill site. According to the map, 6.8% of the study area is most suitable, 15.7% is suitable, 10.4% is moderately suitable, 25.8% is poorly suitable, and 41.3% is unsuitable. At the end of the analyses, three candidate sites are determined. The selection of the final MSW landfill site, however, requires further field research.     

Soil erosion assessment and its correlation with landslide events using remote sensing data and GIS: a case study at Penang Island,Malaysia

In this paper, an attempt has been made to assess, prognosis and observe dynamism of soil erosion by universal soil loss equation (USLE) method at Penang Island, Malaysia. Multi-source (map-, space- and ground-based) datasets were used to obtain both static and dynamic factors of USLE, and an integrated analysis was carried out in raster format of GIS. A landslide location map was generated on the basis of image elements interpretation from aerial photos, satellite data and field observations and was used to validate soil erosion intensity in the study area. Further, a statistical-based frequency ratio analysis was carried out in the study area for correlation purposes. The results of the statistical correlation showed a satisfactory agreement between the prepared USLE-based soil erosion map and landslide events/locations, and are directly proportional to each other. Prognosis analysis on soil erosion helps the user agencies/decision makers to design proper conservation planning program to reduce soil erosion. Temporal statistics on soil erosion in these dynamic and rapid developments in Penang Island indicate the co-existence and balance of ecosystem.     

Factors influencing the sinuosity of Pannagon River, Kottayam, Kerala, India: An assessment using remote sensing and GIS

The present study was carried out to identify the factors influencing the sinuosity of the Pannagon river, using the IRS P6 LISS III data and Geographical Information System (GIS) on 1:50,000 scale. The river follows meandering course and exhibits a narrow, highly sinuous and incised channel. Several lines of evidence including satellite and topographic data, geological maps and field investigations and the generated themes on lithology, structure, geomorphology, slope, riparian vegetation and hydrology have analyzed to understand the controls on the channel morphology of the Pannagon river. The average of sinuosity index of the selected reaches in the river on 1967 was 1.6 and of 2004 was 1.8. The sinuous patches are more in the lower reaches of the river and most of the area comes under floodplain with thick column of alluvial deposits. The analysis shown that the style and degree of sinuosity of the Pannagon river depends on a number of geological factors, including tectonics and the riparian vegetation also plays a major role.     

Investigation of landslide potential parameters on Zonguldak–Ereğli Highway and adverse effects of landslides in the region

Landslides are natural phenomena in the same class of natural disasters as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, erosion, and volcanic eruptions that adversely affect human lives and property. Owing to their widespread occurrence, landslides are easily visible and able to be partially understood by people witnessing them. Nevertheless, to comprehend the detail of their formation and determine their potential, it is necessary to undertake geodetic, geological, and geophysical measurements in regions prone to landslides. By analyzing these measurements, it is possible to better ascertain those regions predisposed to landslides and thus provide the means to prevent loss of life and property. The city of Zonguldak, situated in the Western Black Sea region of Turkey, has a high occurrence of landslides owing to its harsh topography with rugged and steep slopes and rainfall in almost every season. Furthermore, the diurnal temperature ranging up to 10 °C in all seasons, especially in winter, plays a crucial role in rock disintegration in this region. Other factors damage ground composition and trigger landslides, such as underground mining operations, road construction that collapses rocky hills using explosives, and excavation works in steep terrain for building construction. This study gives a detailed account of the causes and adverse effects of landslides and their parameters through examples of landslide occurrences in the region, together with the results and analyses of two periods of geodetic measurements conducted on the Zonguldak–Ere?li Highway in Il?ksu district.     

An expert-based approach to forest road network planning by combining Delphi and spatial multi-criteria evaluation

Changes in forest landscapes resulting from road construction have increased remarkably in the last few years. On the other hand, the sustainable management of forest resources can only be achieved through a well-organized road network. In order to minimize the environmental impacts of forest roads, forest road managers must design the road network efficiently and environmentally as well. Efficient planning methodologies can assist forest road managers in considering the technical, economic, and environmental factors that affect forest road planning. This paper describes a three-stage methodology using the Delphi method for selecting the important criteria, the Analytic Hierarchy Process for obtaining the relative importance of the criteria, and finally, a spatial multi-criteria evaluation in a geographic information system (GIS) environment for identifying the lowest-impact road network alternative. Results of the Delphi method revealed that ground slope, lithology, distance from stream network, distance from faults, landslide susceptibility, erosion susceptibility, geology, and soil texture are the most important criteria for forest road planning in the study area. The suitability map for road planning was then obtained by combining the fuzzy map layers of these criteria with respect to their weights. Nine road network alternatives were designed using PEGGER, an ArcView GIS extension, and finally, their values were extracted from the suitability map. Results showed that the methodology was useful for identifying road that met environmental and cost considerations. Based on this work, we suggest future work in forest road planning using multi-criteria evaluation and decision making be considered in other regions and that the road planning criteria identified in this study may be useful.     

Solid waste disposal site selection with GIS and AHP methodology: a case study in Senirkent�CUluborlu (Isparta) Basin, Turkey

The appropriate site selection for waste disposal is one of the major problems in waste management. Also, many environmental, economical, and political considerations must be adhered to. In this study, landfill site selection is performed using the Geographic Information System (GIS), the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), and the remote sensing methods for the Senirkent?CUluborlu Basin. The basin is located in the E?irdir Lake catchment area, which is one of the most important fresh water in Turkey. So, waste management must be regulated in the basin. For this aim, ten different criteria (lithology, surface water, aquifer, groundwater depth, land use, lineaments, aspect, elevation, slope, and distance to roads) are examined in relation to landfill site selection. Each criterion was identified and weighted using AHP. Then, each criterion is mapped using the GIS technique, and a suitability map is prepared by overlay analyses. The results indicate that 96.3% of the area in the basin is unsuitable; 1.6%, moderately suitable; and 2.1%, most suitable. Finally, suitable regions in the basin are determined for solid waste landfill disposal and checked in the field. The selected and investigated regions are considered to be suitable for the landfill.     

Contaminated area instability along Ångermanälven River,northern Sweden

Industrially utilized river basins are frequently exposed to contaminants originating from polluting activities. However, the physical instability and probability of mass movement mobilization of contaminated soil into rivers have only received little attention. In this study, we present a GIS-based method to produce a regional overview of where and how contaminated areas are potentially exposed to slope instability. A landslide susceptibility-index was used to study the degree and distribution of overlap between contaminated sites and unstable ground. A contaminated area instability hazard classification was produced integrating slope instability and contamination risk classification. Our results indicate that mass movement can be tied mainly to a slope gradient ≥16°, a proximity to the river that is <500 m, a distance of <500 m from roads, concave surface curvature, and sand- and silt soils. Forty-six (22%) of all considered contaminated sites are located within areas with a non-negligible slope instability, of which a majority, 30 sites (14%) are situated on ground with a low or moderate instability. Three sites with a class 2 contamination risk (the 2nd highest class) are located on ground with a very high slope instability.     

Texture Analysis for Mapping Tamarix parviflora Using Aerial Photographs along the Cache Creek, California

Natural color photographs were used to detect the coverage of saltcedar, Tamarix parviflora, along a 40 km portion of Cache Creek near Woodland, California. Historical aerial photographs from 2001 were retrospectively evaluated and compared with actual ground-based information to assess accuracy of the assessment process. The color aerial photos were sequentially digitized, georeferenced, classified using color and texture methods, and mosaiced into maps for field use. Eight types of ground cover (Tamarix, agricultural crops, roads, rocks, water bodies, evergreen trees, non-evergreen trees and shrubs (excluding Tamarix)) were selected from the digitized photos for separability analysis and supervised classification. Due to color similarities among the eight cover types, the average separability, based originally only on color, was very low. The separability was improved significantly through the inclusion of texture analysis. Six types of texture measures with various window sizes were evaluated. The best texture was used as an additional feature along with the color, for identifying Tamarix. A total of 29 color photographs were processed to detect Tamarix infestations using a combination of the original digital images and optimal texture features. It was found that the saltcedar covered a total of 3.96 km² (396 hectares) within the study area. For the accuracy assessment, 95 classified samples from the resulting map were checked in the field with a global position system (GPS) unit to verify Tamarix presence. The producer's accuracy was 77.89%. In addition, 157 independently located ground sites containing saltcedar were compared with the classified maps, producing a user's accuracy of 71.33%.     

Effects of land cover changes induced by large physical disturbances on hydrological responses in Central Taiwan

This study analyzes the significant impacts of typhoons and earthquakes on land cover change and hydrological response. The occurrence of landslides following typhoons and earthquakes is a major indicator of natural disturbance. The hydrological response of the Chenyulan watershed to land use change was assessed from 1996 to 2005. Land use changes revealed by seven remote images corresponded to typhoons and a catastrophic earthquake in central Taiwan. Hydrological response is discussed as the change in quantities and statistical distributions of hydrological components. The land cover change results indicate that the proportion of landslide relative to total area increased to 6.1% after the Chi-Chi earthquake, representing the largest increase during the study period. The study watershed is dominated by forest land cover. Comparisons of hydrological components reveal that the disturbance significantly affects base flow and direct runoff. The hydrological modeling results demonstrate that the change in forest area correlates with the variation of base flow and direct runoff. Base flow and direct runoff are sensitive to land use in discussions of distinction. The proposed approach quantifies the effect of typhoons and earthquakes on land cover changes.     

The Influence of Linear Elements on Plant Species Diversity of Mediterranean Rural Landscapes: Assessment of Different Indices and Statistical Approaches

This paper mainly aims to study the linear element influence on the estimation of vascular plant species diversity in five Mediterranean landscapes modeled as land cover patch mosaics. These landscapes have several core habitats and a different set of linear elements -habitat edges or ecotones, roads or railways, rivers, streams and hedgerows on farm land- whose plant composition were examined. Secondly, it aims to check plant diversity estimation in Mediterranean landscapes using parametric and non-parametric procedures, with two indices: Species richness and Shannon index.Land cover types and landscape linear elements were identified from aerial photographs. Their spatial information was processed using GIS techniques. Field plots were selected using a stratified sampling design according to relieve and tree density of each habitat type. A 50×20 m² multi-scale sampling plot was designed for the core habitats and across the main landscape linear elements. Richness and diversity of plant species were estimated by comparing the observed field data to ICE (Incidence-based Coverage Estimator) and ACE (Abundance-based Coverage Estimator) non-parametric estimators.The species density, percentage of unique species, and alpha diversity per plot were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in linear elements than in core habitats. ICE estimate of number of species was 32% higher than of ACE estimate, which did not differ significantly from the observed values. Accumulated species richness in core habitats together with linear elements, were significantly higher than those recorded only in the core habitats in all the landscapes. Conversely, Shannon diversity index did not show significant differences.     

Land desertification monitoring and assessment in Yulin of Northwest China using remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS)

The objective of this study is to develop techniques for assessing and analysing land desertification in Yulin of Northwest China, as a typical monitoring region through the use of remotely sensed data and geographic information systems (GIS). The methodology included the use of Landsat TM data from 1987, 1996 and 2006, supplemented by aerial photos in 1960, topographic maps, field work and use of other existing data. From this, land cover, the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), farmland, woodland and grassland maps at 1:100,000 were prepared for land desertification monitoring in the area. In the study, all data was entered into a GIS using ILWIS software to perform land desertification monitoring. The results indicate that land desertification in the area has been developing rapidly during the past 40 years. Although land desertification has to some extent been controlled in the area by planting grasses and trees, the issue of land desertification is still serious. The study also demonstrates an example of why the integration of remote sensing with GIS is critical for the monitoring of environmental changes in arid and semi-arid regions, e.g. in land desertification monitoring in the Yulin pilot area. However, land desertification monitoring using remote sensing and GIS still needs to be continued and also refined for the purpose of long-term monitoring and the management of fragile ecosystems in the area.     

Landslides susceptibility change over time according to terrain conditions in a mountain area of the tropic region

Susceptibility to landslides in mountain areas results from the interaction of various factors related to relief formation and soil development. The assessment of landslide susceptibility has generally taken into account individual events, or it has been aimed at establishing relationships between landslide-inventory maps and maps of environmental factors, without considering that such relationships can change in space and time. In this work, temporal and space changes in landslides were analysed in six different combinations of date and geomorphological conditions, including two different geological units, in a mountainous area in the north-centre of Venezuela, in northern South America. Landslide inventories from different years were compared with a number of environmental factors by means of logistic regression analysis. The resulting equations predicted landslide susceptibility from a range of geomorphometric parameters and a vegetation index, with diverse accuracy, in the study area. The variation of the obtained models and their prediction accuracy between geological units and dates suggests that the complexity of the landslide processes and their explanatory factors changed over space and time in the studied area. This calls into question the use of a single model to evaluate landslide susceptibility over large regions.     

Stochastic landslide vulnerability modeling in space and time in a part of the northern Himalayas, India

Little is known about the quantitative vulnerability analysis to landslides as not many attempts have been made to assess it comprehensively. This study assesses the spatio-temporal vulnerability of elements at risk to landslides in a stochastic framework. The study includes buildings, persons inside buildings, and traffic as elements at risk to landslides. Building vulnerability is the expected damage and depends on the position of a building with respect to the landslide hazard at a given time. Population and vehicle vulnerability are the expected death toll in a building and vehicle damage in space and time respectively. The study was carried out in a road corridor in the Indian Himalayas that is highly susceptible to landslides. Results showed that 26% of the buildings fall in the high and very high vulnerability categories. Population vulnerability inside buildings showed a value >0.75 during 0800 to 1000 hours and 1600 to 1800 hours in more buildings that other times of the day. It was also observed in the study region that the vulnerability of vehicle is above 0.6 in half of the road stretches during 0800 hours to 1000 hours and 1600 to 1800 hours due to high traffic density on the road section. From this study, we conclude that the vulnerability of an element at risk to landslide is a space and time event, and can be quantified using stochastic modeling. Therefore, the stochastic vulnerability modeling forms the basis for a quantitative landslide risk analysis and assessment.     

GIS based mapping of land cover changes utilizing multi-temporal remotely sensed image data in Lake Hawassa Watershed,Ethiopia

Classifying multi-temporal image data to produce thematic maps and quantify land cover changes is one of the most common applications of remote sensing. Mapping land cover changes at the regional level is essential for a wide range of applications including land use planning, decision making, land cover database generation, and as a source of information for sustainable management of natural resources. Land cover changes in Lake Hawassa Watershed, Southern Ethiopia, were investigated using Landsat MSS image data of 1973, and Landsat TM images of 1985, 1995, and 2011, covering a period of nearly four decades. Each image was partitioned in a GIS environment, and classified using an unsupervised algorithm followed by a supervised classification method. A hybrid approach was employed in order to reduce spectral confusion due to high variability of land cover. Classification of satellite image data was performed integrating field data, aerial photographs, topographical maps, medium resolution satellite image (SPOT 20 m), and visual image interpretation. The image data were classified into nine land cover types: water, built-up, cropland, woody vegetation, forest, grassland, swamp, bare land, and scrub. The overall accuracy of the LULC maps ranged from 82.5 to 85.0 %. The achieved accuracies were reasonable, and the observed classification errors were attributable to coarse spatial resolution and pixels containing a mixture of cover types. Land cover change statistics were extracted and tabulated using the ERDAS Imagine software. The results indicated an increase in built-up area, cropland, and bare land areas, and a reduction in the six other land cover classes. Predominant land cover is cropland changing from 43.6 % in 1973 to 56.4 % in 2011. A significant portion of land cover was converted into cropland. Woody vegetation and forest cover which occupied 21.0 and 10.3 % in 1973, respectively, diminished to 13.6 and 5.6 % in 2011. The change in water body was very peculiar in that the area of Lake Hawassa increased from 91.9 km² in 1973 to 95.2 km² in 2011, while that of Lake Cheleleka whose area was 11.3 km² in 1973 totally vanished in 2011 and transformed into mud-flat and grass dominated swamp. The “change and no change” analysis revealed that more than one third (548.0 km²) of the total area was exposed to change between 1973 and 2011. This study was useful in identifying the major land cover changes, and the analysis pursued provided a valuable insight into the ongoing changes in the area under investigation.     

Monitoring the impacts of urbanization and industrialization on the agricultural land and environment of the Torbali, Izmir region, Turkey

The aim of this research is to determine agricultural land loss and environmental pollution caused by industrialization and urban sprawl using the Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing technique (RS). Remotely sensed data is the most powerful tool for monitoring land use changes and GIS is the best way to store and reproduce various kinds of integrated data. Considering the rapid increase of population the loss of fertile agricultural soils is a very dangerous situation for the future of the country. Thus, people are living in the cities in (with adverse) conditions of insufficient drinking water, infrastructure problems, inadequate landscape and many unsolved (extreme) environmental problems. During the last 36 years, unplanned urbanization and industrialization have led to the use of agricultural areas for non-agricultural purposes in the Torbali (Izmir) region, which has the most fertile soils of the Aegean Region. Within this study, a database was created on the parameters of land loss and environmental pollution by means of field observation, interpretation of satellite images (ASTER), aerial photos(1/25.000 scale), topographic map ,soil map, and 1/5.000 scale cadastral map. Results of previous researches and the archives of Torbali municipality were used as ancillary data. In the research, urbanization and industrialization of the town was studied by (using) GIS and RS between 1965 and 2001. Since 1965, 4.742.357 m² agricultural land, mostly of first and second land use capability classes, has been lost due to unplanned urban and industrial developments. Urbanization and industrialization involved an area of which 58% was being used as irrigated lands, 25 % rain feed (rain fed lands)and 17 % for olive growing.     

Using the analytical hierarchy process to assess the environmental vulnerabilities of basins in Taiwan

Every year, Taiwan endures typhoons and earthquakes; these natural hazards often induce landslides and debris flows. Therefore, watershed management strategies must consider the environmental vulnerabilities of local basins. Because many factors affect basin ecosystems, this study applied multiple criteria analysis and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate seven criteria in three phases (geographic phase, hydrologic phase, and societal phase). This study focused on five major basins in Taiwan: the Tan-Shui River Basin, the Ta-Chia River Basin, the Cho-Shui River Basin, the Tseng-Wen River Basin, and the Kao-Ping River Basin. The objectives were a comprehensive examination of the environmental characteristics of these basins and a comprehensive assessment of their environmental vulnerabilities. The results of a survey and AHP analysis showed that landslide area is the most important factor for basin environmental vulnerability. Of all these basins, the Cho-Shui River Basin in central Taiwan has the greatest environmental vulnerability.