Hill Slope Failures and Bio-Engineering Stabilisation Methods

Abstract

The environmental forces prevailing in any region are responsible for imparting the physical character and formation of the landforms. Developing the land for a new use requires reshaping the site. Grading of the land becomes essential to accommodate new structures, parking, and circulation. When the land development takes place without any precautions in the hilly areas, it causes the destabilisation of the land. Triggering of landslides is common in the mountainous state; and is both natural and anthropogenic phenomena. The landslide activities are also enhanced and influenced with the altitude, geology, and topography and erasing of the vegetation cover. The recent past has experienced an increase in vulnerability to this problem wherein various developmental activites constitute the major cause. To prevent the destabilisation, the energy intensive concrete retaining wall is the common site in the hill areas. However, other energy efficient bio-engineering techniques have been suggested in this manuscript for the prevention of the landslides; which are suitable in the regional context too.