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Rainfall erosivity is the driving force of soil erosion and it is characterized by a large variability in space and time. In order to obtain robust estimates of rainfall erosivity, long series of high-frequency rainfall data are needed, which are often not available for large study areas. In this study we reconstructed past rainfall erosivity in Europe for the period 1961–2018, with the aim to investigate temporal changes in rainfall erosivity. As input data, we used the Rainfall Erosivity Database at European Scale (REDES) and Uncertainties in Ensembles of Regional Reanalyses (UERRA) rainfall data. Using a set of regression models, which we derived with the application of the k-fold cross-validation approach, we computed the annual rainfall erosivity for the 1675 stations forming the REDES database. Based on the reconstructed data, we derived a rainfall erosivity trend map for Europe where the results were qualitatively validated. Among the stations showing a statistically significant trend, we observed a tendency towards more positive (15%) than negative trends (7%). In addition, we also observed an increasing tendency of the frequency of years with maximum erosivity values. Geographically, large parts of regions such as Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Baltic countries, Great Britain and Ireland, part of the Balkan Peninsula, most of Italy, Benelux countries, northern part of Germany, part of France, among others, are characterized by a positive trend in rainfall erosivity. By contrast, negative trends in annual rainfall erosivity could be observed for most of the Iberian Peninsula, part of France, most of the Alpine area, Southern Germany, and part of the Balkan Peninsula, among others. The new dataset of rainfall erosivity trends reported in this study scientifically provides new information to better understand the impacts of the ongoing erosivity trends on soil erosion across Europe, while, from a policy perspective, the gained findings provide new knowledge to support the development of soil erosion indicators aiming at promoting mitigation measures at regional and pan-European level.

World Landslide Forum (4º. 2017. Liubliana, Eslovenia), Exposure to hazards is expected to increase in Europe, due to rapid population growth in urban areas and the escalation of urbanization throughout many countries. In the framework of the European Geological Surveys (EGS), the Earth Observation and Geohazards Expert Group (EOEG) has carried out a survey based enquiry regarding the integration of geohazards (earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, ground subsidence, floods and others) into urban and land-use planning. Responses from 19 European countries and 5 regions reveal heterogeneous policies across national borders. 17% of the countries have not yet implemented any legal measures to integrate geohazards into urban and land-use plans and half of the participating countries have no official methodological guides to construct geohazard maps. Additionally, there is a scarce knowledge about real social impacts of geohazards and resulting disasters in many of the countries, although they have a significant impact on their national economies. This overview stresses the need for a common legislative framework and homogenization of the national legislations as well as mutual guidelines which adopt the principles applicable to the management of geohazards and explain the process to be followed in the production of hazard documentation. This is especially relevant in case of landslide and subsidence hazards; although those are of great importance in Europe, there are no common guidelines and practices similar to Directive 2007/60/EC on the assessment and management of flood risk. Based on their expertise, EuroGeoSurveys (EGS) have the potential to coordinate this activity in European geohazard guidelines and to promote the interaction among stakeholders., Geohazards InSAR Laboratory and Modeling Group, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, España, Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières, Francia, Engineering Geology Department, Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration, Grecia, GeoHazard team, Geological Institute of Romania, Rumanía, Geological Survey of Slovenia, Eslovenia, Croatian Geological Survey, Croacia, Geological Survey of Italy, Italia, Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, Suiza, Geological Survey of Austria, Austria, Polish Geological Institute, National Research Institute, Polonia, Geological Survey of Ireland, Irlanda, Czech Geological Survey, República Checa, Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Alemania, Geological Survey of Norway, Noruega, Cyprus Geological Survey, Chipre, Geological Survey of Sweden, Suecia, Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya, España, British Geological Survey, Reino Unido, Geological Survey of Slovakia, Eslovaquia, Geological Survey of Lithuania, Lituania, Federalni Zavod Za Geologiju, Nigeria, Geological Survey of Estonia, Estonia, Laboratorio Nacional de Energia e Minas, Portugal, Geological Survey of the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia y Herzegovina

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, 2015 triggering several thousands of landslides and causing widespread damages to mountain villages and the evacuation of thousands of people. This contribution describes landslide susceptibility analysis performed in the Dhading (1885 km2), Sindhupalchok (2488 km2), Rasuwa (1522 km2) and Nuwakot (1194 km2) districts. Three landslide inventories have been prepared covering most of the area affected by coseismic landslides in Nepal. The first one is a coseismic and post-seismic landslide inventory based on multi-temporal images (Google Earth, Google Crisis maps, Bing maps), and helicopter-based video. The inventory includes more than 15,000 landslides. The second one is a pre-event shallow landslide inventory showing landslides already active before the occurrence of the earthquake. This inventory includes more than 2500 events. For these two inventories, the most abundant landslide types are debris flows, shallow translational slides, and rockfalls. The third inventory includes almost 20,000 deep-seated landslides, mostly rock avalanches, slumps, rockslides and deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSD). Starting from these inventories, a multivariate statistical analysis of geo-environmental variables with respect to landslide occurrence was performed, aimed at recognizing the most significant controlling factors, such as lithology, slope gradient, and the presence of older deep-seated landslides. This analysis was complemented by field activities carried out in October 2015. During the survey, local knowledge has been systematically exploited through interviews with local people that have experienced the earthquake and the coseismic landslides. This helped us to recognize fractures and active deformations and to reconstruct a correct chronicle of landslide events.