Impact of Land Use and Land Cover changes on landslide susceptibility over Idukki, India

Changes in Land Use Land Cover (LULC) of a region can result in changes to its susceptibility to landslides. In the current study, we have investigated the changes in LULC for Idukki district, Kerala, India for a period of 8 years from 2015 to 2023. The landslide susceptibility for the region is also evaluated using random forest algorithm. It is observed that the LULC pattern has changed over the years, with an increase in built-up area and a decrease in the area under dense vegetation. The landslide susceptibility evaluation indicates that the area which falls under very high susceptibility zone has increased in the 8 years. This implies a need for further investigation to find the influence of the changes in LULC in the Landslide Susceptibility which will enable for better Land-Use planning, helping in the mitigation of landslides