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Rainfall-induced landslides are one of the most frequent natural disasters. Detection of changes in the characteristics of the rainfall events that can be regarded as triggering factor is therefore of primary importance for policy-makers, practitioners, civil protection units and others. This study evaluated changes in the frequency and intensity of rainfall events above selected empirical rainfall thresholds at the pan-European level. For areas classified as at least moderately susceptible to landslides according to the ELSUS v2 map (i.e. around 1.8 * 106 km2; around 37% of the area), changes were evaluated for the 1961–2018 period. The regional rainfall reanalysis data was used as input. Four different empirical rainfall thresholds were selected and changes in the frequency of rainfall events above the thresholds and their characteristics were analysed. The results showed that, on average, 14% more rainfall events above the threshold were recorded in the 1991–2018 period compared to 1961–1990 at the European level according to the selected empirical rainfall threshold. Moreover, several regions were found where frequency and intensity of rainfall events above the four selected global empirical rainfall thresholds were positive and statistically significant. These regions were for example Italy, Carpathian Mountains, British Isles and some other parts of Europe. Some of these areas are also regions where landslides susceptibility is high or even very high and where multiple landslides were recorded in the past. On the other hand, there are also regions where frequency and intensity of events above the threshold were negative and statistically significant. These regions were parts of Central Europe, Alps and Pyrenees. Also, in these regions landslides frequently occur. According to different empirical thresholds, no significant change in the frequency of rainfall events above the thresholds could be detected for around 50% of the investigated area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights from the article: In 2019, the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering of the University of Ljubljana (UL FGG) is celebrating its centennial: The precursor of the faculty was the Technical Faculty established in 1919 as one of five founding faculties of the university. In the field of capacity building, UL FGG offers several courses for graduate and postgraduate students in landslide mechanics and dynamics, landslide stabilization and landslide risk mitigation. IPL-151 Soil matrix suction in active landslides in flysch - the Slano Blato landslide case (2010-2012) (Mikos et al. [23]; Macek et al. [12]) 31 Pulko B, Majes B, Mikos (2013) Reinforced concrete shafts for the structural mitigation of large deep-seated landslides: an experience from the Macesnik and the Slano Blato landslides (Slovenia).

Abstract Slovenia is one of the EU countries with the largest values and largest amounts of variability in rainfall erosivity, with maximum annual values exceeding 10,000 MJ mm ha-1 h-1 yr-1. Five-minute rainfall data was analysed from 10 Slovenian rainfall stations with data-length availability longer than 25 years with a maximum data length of 69 years and a total data-station length equal to 443 years. Trends in the rainfall erosivity R -factor were detected for four different sub-samples using monthly, half-year, and annual rainfall erosivity values. The results indicate that rainfall erosivity trends for the selected Slovenian stations are mostly statistically insignificant, with the selected significance level of 0.05. However, a larger share of identified trends are positive than negative. The maximum annual rainfall erosivity values were obtained for one specific mountain station. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis regarding the rainfall erosivity factor R calculation showed that the rainfall threshold parameter (12.7 mm) that is used to remove the small-magnitude rainfall events in order to reduce the computational burden can attribute up to 10% of the average annual R -values in cases where this threshold is not used. Other parameters have, on average, a smaller impact on the calculated rainfall erosivity. Furthermore, the application of local kinetic energy equations resulted in, on average, about 20% higher annual rainfall erosivity values compared to the equation that is proposed by the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) manual and was not developed specifically for this region. Highlights • Rainfall erosivity for 10 rainfall stations located in Slovenia was evaluated. • Rainfall erosivity trends are mostly positive while mostly statistically insignificant. • The maximum rainfall erosivity is obtained under Alpine climate. • Monthly rainfall erosivity was computed. • Sensitivity analyses were carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dissemination of research results is an important part of basic as well as applied research if not the most important one. A large part of research results is published in scientific literature, and since there are many forms of it, the question arises which form is the most visible and attractive to the world scientific community. The International Consortium on Landslides (ICL), based in Kyoto, Japan, is one of the leading institutions in the field of landslide research and landslide risk reduction. On behalf of ICL, Springer Nature has published the journal Landslides: Journal of the International Consortium on Landslides since 2004. It is a very successful scientific journal with regard to its scientometric parameters. Since January 2018, it has been a monthly journal published in full color in electronic as well as printed form. Another form of dissemination of the ICL scientific and professional activities are published books in the form of monographs and proceedings from triennial World Landslide Forums. This paper discusses the impact of 52 books with 3426 chapters taken from the field of landslide science and published by Springer Nature from 2005 to 2018 in the earth sciences category, using different scientometric parameters, such as Bookmetrix downloads and citations, Scopus citations, Scopus h-index, Google citations, and Google h-index. The analysis was performed on the book chapter level (using mainly citations as the main scientometric parameter) as well as on the book level (using book h-index and percentage of cited chapters). Out of the selected 52 titles, 22 were published on behalf of the ICL, with 1419 chapters. The differences among landslide-related books can be quite large; only a few chapters from analyzed book titles were found to be cited frequently compared to highly cited scientific journal articles. On average, the analyzed 3426 book chapters from 52 landslide-related books have been downloaded since publication over 53,000 times each; 1092 chapters (32%) received 2932 citations (2.68 citations per cited chapter and 0.86 citations per published chapter). The analysis shows that the books published on behalf of the ICL are, together with other landslide-related book titles, on the forefront in the Springer eBook collection Earth and Environmental Science (EES). The selected 52 landslide-related book titles are above the average metrics for the whole EES with regard to the total number of downloads per book, the total number of citations per book, and the total number of readers per book. The ICL-related books are getting more downloads but less readers and citations (so far) as the selected non-ICL-related books. A way in raising the visibility and impact of the ICL books on landslide research community would be to support their open access publication in the form of e-Books as much as possible, and inclusion of ICL books into Web of Science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 3rd Regional Symposium on Landslides in the Adriatic-Balkan Region (3rd ReSyLAB) was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from June 11 to 13, 2017, with 70 participants from nine countries (Austria, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain)—scientists, engineers, researchers, students, experts, politicians, and other decision-makers working in the area of landslide risk reduction in the region. The ReSyLAB is a biannual event organized by the Adriatic-Balkan Network of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL ABN). Being an important form of activities of this ICL regional network comprising of six ICL members from four countries, it was also a contribution of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) to the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. This article reports on the main outcomes of the 3rd ReSyLAB Symposium. Altogether, 41 abstracts were published in the symposium book of abstracts, and the symposium proceedings with over 20 reviewed full papers are under preparation to be printed early in 2018. During the 3rd ReSyLAB, a five invited keynote lectures have been presented, and 28 oral presentations are given to the audience. An important part of the symposium was a Round Table entitled “Enhancing cooperation between landslide research community and end users.” On the last day of the symposium, over 30 experts participated in two post-symposium study tours in Slovenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific literature is becoming daily more and more abundant. Scientific and professional journals as primary information sources are competing to each other to attract readership. Their position (ranking, visibility, attractiveness, prestige) in scientific community can be measured by using different journal bibliometric and scientometric parameters, journal impact factor being only one of them. Springer Nature publishes the journal Landslides: Journal of the International Consortium on Landslides since 2004. Being examined in the past by different authors from bibliometric and editorial point of view, this review on the journal's achievements confirmed the high ranking of this journal in the fields of geological and geotechnical engineering and engineering geology. Strong and weak points are discussed from the bibliometric point of view, stressing the need for higher internationality of co-authorship of published articles in order to be true international journal. Continuous publishing and the move to a monthly journal in 2018 will eventually increase journal's h-index and cited half-life of citations, but further editorial efforts should be directed to attract excellent review papers and focused technical notes to increase cites per paper. Until now, the journal Landslides is the foremost journal in the field of landslide disaster risk reduction, and the top young international journal in the field of geological engineering and engineering geology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fourth World Landslide Forum (WLF4) was held in Cankarjev dom-Cultural and Congress Centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from 30 May to 2 June 2017, with over 600 participants from 49 countries, 5 international organizations, and 4 United Nations organizations-scientists, engineers, researchers, students, experts, politicians, and other decision makers working in the area of landslide risk reduction. Well, over 100 of them were (post)graduate students. The WLF4 as a triennial event was a contribution of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) to the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. This article reports on the main WLF4 events and outcomes of the forum. Altogether, close to 400 peer-reviewed full papers, including keynote, invited, and other submitted papers, were published by Springer Nature in five volumes with a total of over 3600 pages. During the WLF4, 20 new World Centres of Excellence on Landslide Risk Reduction for 2017-2020, IPL Awards for Success, Varnes Medals, Best Paper Awards, and other means of recognitions were handed out to the recipients. The WLF4 participants have adopted the '2017 Ljubljana Declaration,' and drafted the 'Kyoto 2020 Commitment,' in order to stress their strong and joint commitment for the ISDR-ICL Sendai Partnerships 2015-2025 on its way towards the Fifth World Landslide Forum to be held in November 2020 in Kyoto, Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary The simple dynamical system approach was implemented to analyze, explain and simulate streamflow fluxes in diverse seasonal hydrological conditions within the forested Padež stream catchment in SW Slovenia. The catchment is characterized by the flushing, torrential hydrological response conditioned by the flysch geological settings of a low hydraulic conductivity. Consequently, the streamflow formation is not controlled solely by the deeper subsurface catchment storage but is also strongly influenced by the rainfall–runoff that bypasses the deeper subsurface part of the total catchment storage. Therefore, fast component of the streamflow is identified using two-component hydrograph separation; the component recession behavior is described by a separate sensitivity function and used in a simple model to simulate the streamflow. According to the simulation results, the Padež stream catchment behaves primarily like a deeper subsurface storage-dependent system during most of the hydrological conditions. When rainfall intensities increase (rainfall intensities close to 10 mm/h or higher), triggering of the secondary streamflow formation mechanism described by separate, bypassing flow sensitivity function becomes evident and causes fast hydrograph formation with steeply rising and falling limbs. To be able to implement the modeling concept for streamflow predictions, the rainfall losses, most likely associated with interception losses not covered under the potential evapotranspiration calculation, would have to be more thoroughly analyzed through rainfall interception measurements. Our study shows the possible way that two hydrological concepts, the streamflow recession analysis and the two-component hydrograph separation based on relatively easily measurable tracers, such as electrical conductivity, could be combined for analyzing streamflow fluxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with a university degree in Environmental Engineering as a part of university studies in Engineering and shows engineering fields in which environmental engineering studies have been established as stand-alone studies globally. Furthermore, the paper gives a short overview of environmental engineering education in Slovenia, and then looks in detail at the integration of environmental engineering studies with study programmes offered at the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana. In 1998, the first ever in Slovenia technical studies in environmental engineering were introduced, i.e. the four-year university study Water Management and Communal Engineering (VKI). In 2009, it was transformed into a new two-stage Bologna study programme Water Management and Environmental Engineering (VOI). The paper presents the basic indicators of the VKI studies (enrolment, graduates, average grades, study duration, drop-out), which formally expires in the academic year 2015/16, and compares them with those of the pre-Bologna university study programme in geodetic engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of hydropower dams and, in particular, the impacts of reduced river flows on the periphyton community were assessed in the Soča River, Slovenia. Sampling sites were selected upstream and downstream of the Podsela and Ajba dams. Sampling was carried out in 1998 during a period of low flows. Reaches downstream from the dams experienced prolonged periods of reduced flows, and a corresponding decrease in flow velocity and water depth. The chain of hydropower dams has stopped sediment inflow from the upstream reach. Below the dams, the oscillations of water temperature, dissolved oxygen and oxygen saturation are much larger than at unregulated sites upstream. The impact of prolonged periods of reduced flows, a lack of sediment supply from upstream and changes in physicochemical variables has caused high periphyton biomass, proliferation of green algae and increases in the number of periphytic algae species below the dams. This has significant implications for the design of environmental flow strategies that provide a sediment supply to maintain a healthy periphyton community.Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor M. AcremanCitation Smolar-Žvanut, N. and Mikoš, M., 2014. The impact of flow regulation by hydropower dams on the periphyton community in the Soča River, Slovenia. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (5), 1032–1045. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• Rainstorms erosivity is investigated through Lorenz curve and derived coefficients. • The largest values of inter-annual inequality is observed for the Alpine region. • No clear regional pattern in the derived Gini coefficients could be detected. • On average, 11% of all erosive events contribute to the 50% of the total erosivity. • Higher erosive events tend to occur later in the year then less erosive events. Heavy rainstorms play a central role in the water-driving soil erosion processes. An in-depth knowledge about temporal and spatial erosivity of rainfall events is required to gain a better understanding of soil erosion processes and optimize soil protection measures efficiency. In this study, the spatiotemporal distribution of more than 300,000 erosive events measured at 1181 locations, part of the Rainfall Erosivity Database at European Scale (REDES) database, is studied to shed some new light on the rainfall erosivity in Europe. Rainfall erosive events are statistically investigated through the Lorenz curve and derived coefficients such as the Gini coefficient (G). Additionally, seasonal characteristics of the most and the less erosive events are compared to investigate seasonal characteristics of rainstorms across Europe. The G shows largest values of inequality of the inter-annual temporal distribution of the rainfall erosive events in the Alpine region, mostly due to the large number of rainfall events with smaller rainfall erosivity. While for other parts of Europe, the inequality described by the G is mostly due to a small number of high erosive events. The G slightly decreases from south to north while no clear regional patterns can be detected. Additionally, in Europe, on average 11% (ranging from 1 to 24%) of all erosive events contribute to form 50% of the total rainfall erosivity. Furthermore, higher erosive rainfall events tend to occur later in the year compared to less erosive events that take place earlier. To our knowledge, this study is the first one addressing event scale rainfall erosivity distribution using more than 300,000 rainfall erosivity events and covering almost a whole continent. Scientifically our findings represent a major step towards large-scale process-based erosion modelling while, practically, they provide new elements that can support national and local soil erosion monitoring programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Further regional and spatial development of the Republic of Slovenia is based on a wide share of protected areas that pose significant demands for spatial planers. As an example of links between spatial planning and management of protected areas, in this paper we deal with the Triglav National Park (TNP) in NW Slovenia, particularly with the proposal for its 2014-2023 management plan and to which extent this plan takes into account specific conditions that arise from risk areas due to natural hazards as a significant water management expert foundation for planning the use of space. The paper explicitly demonstrates that the determination of hazard and risk areas in Slovenia is truly necessary, and that only a detailed determination of hazard and risk areas in scales 1:1000 to 1:5000 makes possible detailed spatial planning and thus also the management of protected areas. From the discussion, it also follows that the proposed TNP management plan should be upgraded in the field of research by establishing a Scientific (research) council at the TNP Administration, and by establishing a specific targeted research program focused on research in TNP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) was established in 2002 and soon became an important world player in the field of landslide risk mitigation; in 2012, it has more than 50 member organizations throughout the world. As a part of the activities to celebrate ICL's tenth anniversary, a strategic document for the second decade called the ICL Strategic Plan 2012-2021 with the motto 'to create a safer geo-environment' was adopted in Kyoto in January 2012. An important part of this document was a clear dedication to broaden the scope and societal impact in a thematic, institutional, and geographic manner. Thus, thematic and regional networks for landslide risk reduction were recognized to be an important form of ICL activities in the decade to come. In this paper, one of the eight newly established thematic and regional ICL networks is presented: the ICL Landslide Monitoring and Warning Thematic Network, a joint effort of ten ICL member organizations and two ICL supporters from eight countries, five of them are active ICL World Centres of Excellence in Landslide Risk Reduction in the period 2011-2014. The general objective of this thematic network is to compare experiences in the field of landslide monitoring and existing/installed (early) warning systems for active landslides in different regions of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The model developed for evaluating the optimal division of Slovenia into provinces is based on regional centres equipped with activities of appropriate levels, including universities. Connections between universities and the industry of a province are important factors in ensuring equal opportunities to access university education. Information on the regional concentration of students and distribution of organizations providing field placements in relation to all organizations in Slovenia is an important criterion of quality of university education. University and professional studies in geodetic engineering for the entire country is conducted at the University of Ljubljana. A comparison was made between the old and the new university and professional study programmes during the transition to the Bologna study programmes, when University of Ljubljana synchronously offered the old and new study programs (academic years 2008/09, 2009/2010, and 2010/11). The focus of this paper is on the role of field placements in the university with special reference to the understanding and evaluation students' and graduates' competences. The demographic composition of students in geodetic engineering with their involvement in field placements is analysed. An analysis of regional distribution mapping and demographic analysis of organizations with the determination of distance from place of residence of students in geodetic engineering to their field placement is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the issues of resistance of concrete linings to long-term abrasion loading caused by waterborne particles, particularly for the proposed hydro power plants on the Sava River in Slovenia. The main purpose of the research work was to define the possibility of forecasting the process of concrete lining wear on the Sava River dam structures based on the standard procedures of abrasion resistance testing. Abrasion resistance of concrete has been researched in accordance with the standard ASTM C 1138 and Böhme (DIN 52108) methods. The research work was based on a comparison between laboratory results and measurements of abrasion resistance of concrete under natural conditions by performing test plots in the stilling basin of the Vrhovo HPP. Concrete composites with different mechanical properties have been analysed within the research programme. The analysis showed a qualitative similarity of the level of concrete abrasion between laboratory simulations and measurements in the field, as well as suitability of the ASTM C 1138 laboratory method for the assessment of abrasion resistance of concretes in the spillway of the HPP chain on the Lower Sava River [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The international journal Landslides (ISSN 1612-510X), launched in 2004 and published by Springer Verlag, soon gained international recognition as the only specialized scientific journal in the world dedicated to different aspects of landslides, and as one of the leading world journals in the field of geological engineering. After 7 years, seven published volumes with 28 issues and 290 published papers on 2,794 pages, there is time to make a comparison with other related journals that also cover the field of landslide risk mitigation. The critical review of these seven publishing years was done using ISI Journal Citation Reports produced by Thomson Reuters, and available scientometric data from the ISI Web of Knowledge and SCOPUS. The data presented in this paper and the analysis shown may help the Editorial Board to further improve the journal into the direction of a high quality scientific journal with even higher impact on the international research community in the field of landslide risk mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An application of data mining for the determination of flooded areas was published in the Journal Geodetski vestnik (no. 54/2010-4). This paper analyses the usefulness of these results for further analyses of hydraulic parameters. The velocity and discharges were computed for six locations. The study showed that the flooded areas determined by satellite images can be used for further analyses. Nevertheless, other layers have to be sufficiently precise, especially the digital terrain model (DTM). DTM 12.5 was used. The study showed that DTM 12.5 is not precise enough. The observed area is very rough and the hydraulic parameters (cross sectional area of flow, wetted perimeter, hydraulic radius, river-bottom slope, flow velocity, discharge) cannot be detected with sufficient precision. Consequently, the calculated hydraulic radiuses, velocities and discharges are out of expectations. In the first part of the article, some basic information about remote sensing and its techniques is presented. Some practical examples of their usage (especially satellite images) for the observation of natural disasters are also given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article tackles the problem of regionalisation of Slovenia from the integrated perspective of water management. When propositions to divide Slovenia into several regions (provinces) (with proposals to make between 3 and 14 regions) were made, very different and numerous parameters have been taken into account. The article examines the regionalisation problem from the integrated water management perspective that was introduced into the Slovenian water legislation by the European Water Directive, adopted in 2000. The article also summarises the main directions of integrated water management, contained in Water Act that was adopted in 2002 and is still in force. On the basis of integrated water management foundations in European legislation, the article uses the division of Slovenia into water districts as a professional basis for a comparison between different proposals for division of Slovenia into regions. Although it is true that a hydrographical division of Slovenia into water districts cannot be the most important basis for regionalisation, one may notice that a division of Slovenia into three regions (Western Slovenia (Koper), Central Slovenia (Ljubljana), Eastern Slovenia (Maribor)) and partially division into six regions would be fully in line with bases for integrated and (by definition) territorial water management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal and diurnal variations of in-stream NO3-N concentration oscillations were studied through high-frequency measurements of streamwater’s physical, chemical parameters (in-stream NO3-N concentration, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH) and hydrometeorological variables (stream discharge, solar radiation) under hydrologically stable conditions. The study was carried out in 2006, within the 42 km2 forested Padež stream watershed in the southwestern part of Slovenia, which is characterized by distinctive hydrogeological settings (flysch) and climate conditions (transitional area between the Mediterranean and continental climate). Fine temporal data resolution (15-min interval) enabled identification of the factors responsible for seasonal variability in the diurnal pattern of the streamwater NO3-N concentrations versus seasonal and diurnal behavior of meteorological and other water chemistry constituents. The observed seasonal variability of in-stream NO3-N daily oscillations indicates the important role of primary production uptake, particularly during seasons when deciduous vegetation is dormant and light levels in the stream are high. Highest daily NO3-N concentration amplitudes (0.3 mg/l-N) and daily changes in the NO3-N flux (0.4–0.5 g/s-N) were observed in spring; the NO3-N concentration oscillations in summer showed a considerably smaller effect of the in-stream uptake (maximum NO3-N daily concentration amplitude 0.1 mg/l-N; daily change in the NO3-N flux 0.02 g/s-N). Seasonal shifts in the timing of daily maximum (up to 6 h) and minimum NO3-N concentrations (between 1 and 3 h) provided some additional indications of seasonal changes in the in-stream primary production uptake and its relation to the terrestrial component of the forested watershed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Many alpine gravel-bed rivers have been altered in the past due to human interventions. A typical transboundary alpine river in Central Europe flowing over Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary is the Mura River (length: 465 km, catchment area: 14,304 km2). The main problem of the river before leaving Austria is bed degradation (average 0.5 m from 1970 to 2000) as a combined consequence of river regulation works and the reduced sediment supply from the upstream reaches due to the construction of hydro power plants. River restoration measures for the river reach on the border between Austria and Slovenia (SLO–A Mura reach) were proposed in 2000 to support both ecological and flood protection purposes that apply the concept “of self-restoration”. In order to apply similar process-oriented restoration strategies in the Mura River downstream in Slovenia, we consider the potentials for self-forming river processes. We have analysed the sediment granulometry and morphology of the Mura River in Slovenia, and discussed morphodynamic processes to detect potential for the Mura River recovery into a more diverse morphological structure. The cross section area increased by 8% between 1979 and 2005 on average, mainly due to riverbed degradation. On average, the thalweg of the Mura riverbed in Slovenia had degraded by 0.28 m in the 1979–2007 period, with the highest degradation of 2.28 m in one cross section and some cross sections being stable. The high river degradation trend from the SLO–A Mura reach is slowly shifting to the downstream direction into the Mura River in Slovenia. Nevertheless, the clear downstream coarsening of river sediments turns into the normal trend of sediment fining in the Mura River reach in Slovenia. The “self-restoration” potential in the Mura River reach in Slovenia is larger than on the SLO–A Mura reach due to still active morphological fluvial processes. These processes can be enhanced by the inflow of fresh coarse sediments from the SLO–A Mura reach, where active measures for re-establishing sediment transport are under way. In the long term, this will not work as proposed, if no sediment inflow is re-established from the Mura headwaters in Austria. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper shows in detail the case of delineation of risk area in the village of Log pod Mangartom in the Koritnica River valley due to possible debris flows that might in future be triggered on the Stože slope above the Mangart Mountain pasture. On the basis of field and laboratory investigations of the debris flow of November 17, 2000, that devastated the Koritnica River valley, the possible scenarios of triggering new debris flows on the Stože slope were investigated. For the determination of debris flow hazard area in the Koritnica River valley, the results of one- and two-dimensional modelling of selected debris flows of known magnitudes and different viscosities were applied. For the determination of risk area, the existing and the possible new infrastructures were taken into account, and the risk area was divided into 3 zones. The paper presents the expert bases summarised by the legislator in the relevant decree issued by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on the conditions and limitations governing the construction in the debris-flow risk area of Log pod Mangartom. This regulation is the first of its kind in Slovenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

&3x010C;lanek prikazuje primer določanja ogroženega območja v vasici Log pod Mangartom v dolini reke Koritnice zaradi delovanja možnih drobirskih tokov, ki se lahko v prihodnosti sprožijo na pobočju Stože nad Mangartsko planino. Na podlagi terenskih in Iaboratorijskih raziskav o drobirskem toku, ki je 17.11.2000 opustožil dolino reke Koritnice, smo določili možne scenarije proženja novih drobirskih tokov na pobočju Stože. Za določitev nevarnega območja v dolini reke Koritnice zaradi delovanja drobirskih tokov smo uporabili rezultate enodimenzijskega in dvodimenzijskega modeliranja izbranih drobirskih tokov znane magnitude in različne konsistence. Za določitev ogroženega območja smo upoštevali že obstoječo in možno novo infrastrukturo ter ogroženo območje razdelili v tn cone. Članek predstavlja strokovne podlage, ki jih je zakonodajalec povzel v ustrezni uredbi Vlade Republike Slovenije o pogojih in omejitvah gradnje na območju Loga pod Mangartom, ogroženem zaradi pojava drobirskih tokov. Omenjena uredba je prvi tovrstni akt, sprejet v Republiki Sloveniji. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Članek prikazuje primer določanja ogroženega območja v vasici Log pod Mangartom v dolini reke Koritnice zaradi delovanja možnih drobirskih tokov, ki se lahko v prihodnosti sprožijo na pobočju Stože nad Mangartsko planino. Na podlagi terenskih in laboratorijskih raziskav o drobirskem toku, ki je 17. 11. 2000 opustošil dolino reke Koritnice, smo določili možne scenarije proženja novih drobirskih tokov na pobočju Stože. Za določitev nevarnega območja v dolini reke Koritnice zaradi delovanja drobirskih tokov smo uporabili rezultate enodimenzijskega in dvodimenzijskega modeliranja izbranih drobirskih tokov znane magnitude in različne konsistence. Za določitev ogroženega območja smo upoštevali še obstoječo in možno novo infrastrukturo ter ogroženo območje razdelili v tri cone. ^lanek predstavlja strokovne podlage, ki jih je zakonodajalec povzel v ustrezni uredbi Vlade Republike Slovenije o pogojih in omejitvah gradnje na območju Loga pod Mangartom, ogroženem zaradi pojava drobirskih tokov. Omenjena uredba je prvi tovrstni akt, sprejet v Republiki Sloveniji. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper shows in detail the case of delineation of risk area in the village of Log pod Mangartom in the Koritnica River valley due to possible debris flows that might in future be triggered on the Stže slope above the Mangart Mountain pasture. On the basis of field and laboratory investigations of the debris flow of November 17, 2000, that devastated the Koritnica River valley, the possible scenarios of triggering new debris flows on the Stože slope were investigated. For the determination of debris flow hazard area in the Koritnica River valley, the results of one- and two-dimensional modelling of selected debris flows of known magnitudes and different viscosities were applied. For the determination of risk area, the existing and the possible new infrastructures were taken into account, and the risk area was divided into 3 zones. The paper presents the expert bases summarised by the legislator in the relevant decree issued by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia on the conditions and limitations governing the construction in the debris-flow risk area of Log pod Mangartom. This regulation is the first of its kind in Slovenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Landsliding not only changes the morphology of the terrain but is also an effective factor in sediment production. Extreme events such as earthquake-induced large rock falls or rainfall-induced landslides may, during the event itself or in a period after it, greatly increase the sediment delivery and river sediment transport. The effects of strong earthquakes and large landslides on sedimentation are evident in the Upper Soča River basin, NW Slovenia. The annual sediment production in the headwaters of this typical alpine valley in western Slovenia is estimated to average>1000 m3 km−2 a−1. In the last few years, two large landslides triggered there were of comparable volume but differed regarding sediment delivery to the fluvial network. The 2000 Stože landslide at 1.5 million m3 was a debris flow that delivered more than 1 million m3 to the Koritnica River. The Strug complex landslide was initiated in 2001 by a rock slide and soon amounted to an estimated volume of 310,000 m3. In 2002, it released over 20 rainfall-induced debris flows on the order of 100 to 1000 m3 to the fluvial system. In mountainous terrain in the headwaters of the Upper Soča River, slope failures may occur during strong earthquakes depending on the event magnitude. The earthquake of April 12, 1998 (M S 5.6) caused more than 100 failures, among them 50 rock falls. About 260,000 m3 of rock fall material will remain on hill slopes with no potential of reaching the river network, while an estimated volume of 480,000 m3 may be released to watercourses in a longer period during extreme events. About 200,000 m3 of rock fall debris was deposited in areas from where the material was released to watercourses during rainfall events. As a consequence of the 1998 earthquake, hyperconcentrated flows were observed during floods in some torrential tributary channels of the Upper Soča River. After the earthquake of July 12, 2004 (M S 4.9), 50 rather superficial slope failures including 38 rock falls were registered. From 2000 until 2004, more than 150,000 m3 sediments were dredged from the Upper Soča River channel. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Large rock slides frequently cause secondary unstable phenomena. Many such instability processes happened after December 2001, when the Strug rockslide estimated at 95,000 m3 was triggered above the Koseč village near Kobarid in the Julian Alps, W Slovenia. It was initiated at the contact between high permeable calcareous rocks (Cretaceous scaglia) thrusted over nearly impermeable clastic rocks (Cretaceous flysch). Soon after the rockslide initiation, a rock fall with a volume of 45,000 m3 was initiated within the rockslide. The kinetic push of the rock fall caused the movement of a translational soil landslide with a volume of 180,000 m3 that partially slipped into the torrential ravine of the Brusnik Stream. After a sudden drop of 15 m in December 2001, the rockslide average velocity exponentially slowed down to less than 10 m/year till the end of 2002, and came to a practical stillstand in 2003. After the rainfall in spring 2002, small debris flows made of clayey gravels with a volume of up to 1000 m3 started to flow from the zone of accumulation of the rock fall over the soil landslide to and along the channel of the Brusnik Stream. In 2002, more than 20 debris flow events were registered. The statistical analysis of the measured local rainfall intensities showed that debris flows were initiated at daily rainfall reaching from 20 to 30 mm, depending on the antecedent precipitation. This value may be taken as a specific hydrologic threshold for this site. Because in 2003 no more debris flows were registered, a conclusion was drawn that debris flow events were rainfall-induced but governed on the same time by the availability of rock fall debris in its zone of accumulation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper the application of different methods for estimation of magnitudes of rainfall-induced debris flows in 18 torrents in the Upper Sava River valley, NW Slovenia, and in 2 torrents in Pohorje, N Slovenia is described. Additional verification of the methods was performed in the torrential watersheds with active debris flows in the recent past (Predelica and Brusnik in the Soča River basin, W Slovenia). For some of the methods, the knowledge of morphometric characteristics of a torrential watershed, torrential channel and torrential fan is enough. For other methods, a mathematical tool (HEC-HMS) had to be applied in order to develop a hydrologic run-off model of precipitation that can trigger debris flows. Computed debris-flow magnitudes were of the order between 6,500m³ and 340,000m³. Their values are a function of torrential watershed parameters, such as: watershed area, Melton number, fan gradient, and torrential channel gradient. The investigated fans were classified into 3 groups with regard to the debris-flow hazard: debris-flow fans (hazard exists), torrential fans (no hazard), and transitional fans (debris flows are possible, but with low possibility). A limit between debris-flow fans and torrential fans is proposed: Melton number 0.3 and torrential fan gradient 4°, that is, 7%. Out of 24 investigated torrential fans, 13 fans were classified into the group of debris-flow fans, 5 fans were classified into the group of torrential fans, and the rest 6 fans were classified into the group of transitional fans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights from the article: The Springer Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology (Bobrowsky and Marker [2]) addresses the multidisciplinary topic of engineering geology and the environment. The Earth Sciences Series started publishing volumes in 1968, and the Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology, published as First Online on August 1, 2018, is the last volume out of 42 volumes published so far (https://link.springer.com/bookseries/5898). The Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards was one of the 343 books in the Springer's Earth and Environmental Science eBook Collection published in 2013 and with 194 citations so far is the second best cited volume from 2013 in this collection.

In two events, on November 15 and 17, 2000, near the Mangart Mountain (2679 m a.s.l.), NW Slovenia, two translational landslides (debris flow slides) with a total volume of more than 1.5 million m3 occurred on the Stozˇe slope composed of morainic material filled with silt fraction. The first landslide was associated with a dry and the second landslide with a wet debris-flow, respectively. The rain gauging station in the village of Log pod Mangartom recorded 1638.4 mm of rainfall (more than 60% of the average annual precipitation) in the 48 days before the events (rainfall intensity of 1.42 mm/h in 1152 h). The recorded rainfall depth has a recurrence interval of more than 100 years. Other recorded rainfall depths of shorter duration (481.6 mm in 7 days, 174.0 mm in 24 h, 70 mm in 1 h) have recurrence intervals of much less than 100 years. A hydrological analysis of the event showed that the increase in runoff coefficients during the wet period in autumn 2000 before the landslide was as high as two- to threefold. An analysis using natural isotopes of δ18O and tritium of water samples from the Stozˇe landslide area has shown permanent but slow exfiltration of underground waters from a reservoir in the slope. In the case of low-intensity and long-duration rainfall in autumn 2000, relatively low permeable (10−7 m/s) morainic material was nearly saturated but remained stable (average porosity 21%, water content 20%, liquid limit 25%) until high artesian pressures up to 100 m developed in the slope by slow exfiltration from the relatively high permeable (10−5 m/s) massive dolomite. The Stozˇe landslide (two debris flow slides) was triggered by high artesian pressures built in the slope after long-duration rainfall. The devastating debris-flows formed from the landslide masses by infiltration of rainfall and surface runoff into the landslide masses and by their liquefaction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Soil erosion can present a major threat to agriculture due to loss of soil, nutrients, and organic carbon. Therefore, soil erosion modelling is one of the steps used to plan suitable soil protection measures and detect erosion hotspots. A bibliometric analysis of this topic can reveal research patterns and soil erosion modelling characteristics that can help identify steps needed to enhance the research conducted in this field. Therefore, a detailed bibliometric analysis, including investigation of collaboration networks and citation patterns, should be conducted. The updated version of the Global Applications of Soil Erosion Modelling Tracker (GASEMT) database contains information about citation characteristics and publication type. Here, we investigated the impact of the number of authors, the publication type and the selected journal on the number of citations. Generalized boosted regression tree (BRT) modelling was used to evaluate the most relevant variables related to soil erosion modelling. Additionally, bibliometric networks were analysed and visualized. This study revealed that the selection of the soil erosion model has the largest impact on the number of publication citations, followed by the modelling scale and the publication's CiteScore. Some of the other GASEMT database attributes such as model calibration and validation have negligible influence on the number of citations according to the BRT model. Although it is true that studies that conduct calibration, on average, received around 30% more citations, than studies where calibration was not performed. Moreover, the bibliographic coupling and citation networks show a clear continental pattern, although the co-authorship network does not show the same characteristics. Therefore, soil erosion modellers should conduct even more comprehensive review of past studies and focus not just on the research conducted in the same country or continent. Moreover, when evaluating soil erosion models, an additional focus should be given to field measurements, model calibration, performance assessment and uncertainty of modelling results. The results of this study indicate that these GASEMT database attributes had smaller impact on the number of citations, according to the BRT model, than anticipated, which could suggest that these attributes should be given additional attention by the soil erosion modelling community. This study provides a kind of bibliographic benchmark for soil erosion modelling research papers as modellers can estimate the influence of their paper. • A comprehensive bibliometric study using the GASEMT database was conducted. • There is no clear relationship between journal CiteScore and number of citations. • Soil erosion modelling papers are usually co-authored by 2–6 people. • Soil erosion model selection has the largest impact on the number of citations. • Global scale studies receive more citations than regional or national studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First global application of the Erosion Potential Model (EPM) is done. • Model validation is done using sediment yield data for more than 100 catchments. • Two SDR equations were tested for the estimate of the net erosion rates. • Modified version of the EPM (mEPM) yields better results compared to the EPM. • Both EPM and mEPM are also associated with several shortcomings. Soil erosion is expected to increase in the future due to climate change. Soil erosion models are useful tools that can be used by decision makers and other stakeholders to deal with soil erosion problems or the implementation of soil protection measures. Most of the modelling applications are using Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE)-type models. In this study, we evaluate the applicability of the Erosion Potential Model (EPM) and its modified version (mEPM) for the estimation of the gross and net erosion rates at a global scale. The sensitivity analysis shows that the model results have the highest variability due to the soil protection (land cover) coefficient followed by the soil erodibility parameter. The models' evaluations indicate that that the EPM cannot be applied to cold regions while the mEPM overcomes this issue. The erosion rates based on the EPM were 1.5–2.5 times larger than the ones obtained from the mEPM. Increasing the number of catchment properties as inputs to the model may help in improving the performance of the tested EPM and mEPM. Moreover, a comparison of net soil losses by mEPM with long-term suspended sediment yield data for 116 catchments located around the globe indicates a median bias of less than 10%, although the bias for around 1/3 of catchments was above 100%. Furthermore, a direct comparison with other soil erosion models such as USLE-type models is not possible since the EPM and mEPM do take into consideration other processes such as soil slumps and gully erosion and not just sheet and rill erosion. Therefore, as expected, the gross erosion rates by the EPM and mEPM are higher compared to the USLE-type models. Hence, the mEPM, despite its limitations, could be regarded as an interesting approach for the describing erosion processes around the globe and should be further tested using small- and medium-sized catchments from various climate zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some rainfall-triggered landslides, intensity-duration thresholds can have limited prediction ability; therefore, investigation of alternative approaches that can be used for temporal prediction of rainfall-induced landslides is needed. This paper presents a methodology for predicting rainfall-induced shallow landslides based on a lumped conceptual hydrological model. The production storage level during the rainfall event and the rainfall sum during the event are used for landslide prediction. Based on these two hydro-meteorological variables a threshold is defined that could be used for rainfall-induced landslides prediction as part of an early warning system. The presented methodology is tested using the meso-scale Selška Sora River catchment case study in western Slovenia where 20 active landslides from the Slovenian National Landslide Database are used to calibrate and evaluate the methodology performance. The results are compared to three different (i.e. local, regional, and global) intensity-duration thresholds. The results of the presented approach are superior in terms of several goodness-of-fit criteria compared to tested local and global ID thresholds. Because only daily rainfall, evapotranspiration, and discharge data are needed to calibrate the selected hydrological model and only daily rainfall and evapotranspiration to run the model, the presented approach could also be useful for data-scarce areas where detailed physically based landslide prediction models that require many data cannot be constructed. Moreover, we have also derived the probabilistic version of the proposed threshold for triggering of shallow landslides using copula functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Part of precipitation is intercepted by forest canopies, while the rest reaches the ground as throughfall or stemflow. This process is influenced by various meteorological variables, of which we have mainly focused on drop diameter and velocity. Rainfall in the open and throughfall under birch and pine trees have both been measured since 2014 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The results demonstrate that the total throughfall during 3.5 years was 73% and 53% of rainfall under birch and pine trees, respectively. During the 236 analysed events, the median volume diameter was 1.8 mm (1.7 mm), and kinetic energy between 0.01 mJ/cm² and 23.3 mJ/cm² was recorded. We closely analysed the effect of rainfall microstructure on throughfall under pine and birch trees during three specific rainfall events. The increase in drop diameter and fall velocity during a rainfall event instantaneously increased throughfall under pine trees between 25% and 47%, whereas no such changes were observed under birch trees. This may be the consequence of different tree properties of the two species. Additionally, in the case of a saturated canopy, throughfall under pine trees exceeded rainfall in the open after an onset of larger and faster drops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Floods, landslides and debris flows are natural events that occur all over the world and are often induced by extreme rainfall conditions. Several extreme events occurred in Slovenia (Europe) in the last 25 years that caused 18 casualties and approximately 500 million Euros of economic loss. The intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) relationship was constructed using the Frank copula function for several rainfall stations using high-resolution rainfall data with an average subsample length of 34 years. The empirical rainfall threshold curves were also evaluated for selected extreme events. Post-event analyses showed that rainfall characteristics triggering flash floods and landslides are different. The sensitivity analysis results indicate that the inter-event time definition (IETD) and subsample definition methodology can have a significant influence on the position of rainfall events in the intensity–duration space, the constructed IDF curves and on the relationship between the empirical rainfall threshold curves and the IDF curves constructed using the copula approach. Furthermore, a combination of several empirical rainfall thresholds with an appropriate high-density rainfall measurement network can be used as part of the early warning system of the initiation of landslides and debris flows. However, different rainfall threshold curves should be used for lowland and mountainous areas in Slovenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper gives an overview of landslide research and the activity of landslides located above the Koroška Bela settlement in Northwest Slovenia. There are several landslides in this area and they pose a direct threat to the settlement below. The settlement is very densely populated (about 2,100 inhabitants) and has well-developed industry and infrastructure. It is built on deposits from past debris flows, indicating that large slope mass movements have occurred in the past. In this regard, the hinterland of Koroška Bela has been investigated since 2006, within the framework of various research, technical and European projects. The most extensive geological and geotechnical investigations were carried out after April 2017, when part of the Čikla landslide collapsed and mobilised into a debris flow. All of the investigations which have been carried out over the years revealed that the hinterland of Koroška Bela is characterised by high landslide activity due to geological, hydrogeological and tectonic conditions. In order to protect people and their property, it is essential to implement a holistic mitigation measure which includes remediation works (drainage works, debris flow breaker, etc.) and nonstructural measures (monitoring system, early warning system, risk management, etc.). Regular and continuous monitoring of all landslides is also crucial to observe the landslide dynamics and evaluate the effectiveness of structural mitigation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suspended solids are present in every river, but high quantities can worsen the ecological conditions of streams; therefore, effective monitoring and analysis of this hydrological variable are necessary. Frequency, seasonality, inter-correlation, extreme events, trends and lag analyses were carried out for peaks of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and discharge (Q) data from Slovenian streams using officially monitored data from 1955 to 2006 that were made available by the Slovenian Environment Agency. In total more than 500 station-years of daily Q and SSC data were used. No uniform (positive or negative) trend was found in the SSC series; however, all the statistically significant trends were decreasing. No generalization is possible for the best fit distribution function. A seasonality analysis showed that most of the SSC peaks occurred in the summer (short-term intense convective precipitation produced by thunderstorms) and in the autumn (prolonged frontal precipitation). Correlations between Q and SSC values were generally relatively small (Pearson correlation coefficient values from 0.05 to 0.59), which means that the often applied Q–SSC curves should be used with caution when estimating annual suspended sediment loads. On average, flood peak Q occurred after the corresponding SSC peak (clockwise-positive hysteresis loops), but the average lag time was rather small (less than 1 day). Editor M.C. Acreman; Associate editor Y. Gyasi-Agyei [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to a long history of human intervention in river ecosystems, pristine conditions hardly exist nowadays and therefore a concept of a ‘guiding image’ defines the present-day potential natural state. Since regional physiographic factors influence the natural habitat features and biota on local level, also guiding images are expected to differ regionally. In this study, the guiding images of rivers of four major regions were defined: alpine, lowland, mediterranean and karst. The habitat features of rivers were studied in four major European regions: the Alps, the Pannonian Lowland, the Submediterranean region and the Dinaric region. For the analysis only those river habitat quality features were used that were proven to be ecologically important. The results showed differences among habitat features of rivers of all investigated regions. On the whole dataset the major gradient among reference sites was observed for habitat features that are in tight relation to water flow and sediment dynamics. For these features the major differences were found between the alpine and the lowland rivers, and on the other hand the similarities were observed between the Mediterranean and the Alpine rivers and between the karst and the lowland rivers. Another important gradient was observed on account of habitat features of riparian and channel vegetation. The highest values of these features were observed for the alpine and the mediterranean rivers and lower in the karst or the lowland rivers. However, the simpler riparian vegetation structure suggested by our results might not be the representative picture of natural vegetation, so the values of these features for a guiding image should be used with caution. In the present study the first step to the guiding images of the rivers in four major regions is proposed. Since the results showed considerable variability of some river habitat features present within regions, we suggest further investigation on even smaller groups. Nevertheless, the recognized differences and similarities among four regions in river habitat features that are ecologically relevant might serve as guidance for more sustainable and cost-effective river management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last decade, several rainfall-induced deep-seated large landslides with volumes of the order of 1 million m were triggered in various locations in Slovenia (central Europe), each representing a serious threat to the nearby villages and traffic infrastructure and urging to be mitigated. The Macesnik landslide, triggered in 1989, and the Slano blato landslide, triggered in 2000, were the first two large landslides in Slovenia, where a combination of drainage and retaining works consisting of deep reinforced concrete (RC) shafts/wells was successfully used as a mitigation measure. This paper presents the field conditions and a brief history of the two landslides with emphasis on the design approach and method used for the stability analysis and the design of deep RC shafts/wells. In addition, the paper gives an insight into the problems associated with the execution of works and provides data about the behavior of the two landslides after drainage and retaining works were completed. The monitoring data show that the undertaken mitigation measures were efficient to improve the stability of both landslides and significantly reduce the risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debris flows are one of the natural disasters that can occur in the alpine environment, cause large economic damage, and endanger human lives. This study presents an overview of recent research done in relation to the debris flow hazard assessment and conceptual mitigation at the Koroška Bela area in Slovenia. This includes fieldwork, lab experiments, modelling, and a conceptual design of hydro-technical measures to reduce the risk. The results indicate that multiple debris flows occurred in the past in the area but a relatively long period of more than 100 years without an extreme event led to urbanization and development of the area. Magnitudes of the most extreme events as the worst-case scenarios were estimated to be in the range between 100,000 and 400,000 m3, using debris flow modelling and geological information from research trenches. Based on the landslide volumes, such events could also potentially occur in the future in extreme conditions. Additionally, torrential floods could mobilize more than 15,000 m3 of material located along the stream network that can be regarded as potentially unstable. The existing check dam system does not have the capacity to capture this material. Thus, a new check dam and three flexible net barriers could help to reduce the risk due to torrential outbursts or debris flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The variability of hydrologically induced mobilization of nitrate during sequences of hydrological events in different seasons was studied through high-frequency measurements of streamwater nitrate concentrations accompanied by a detailed hydrometeorological monitoring system. The study was carried out in 2006, within the 42km2 forested Padež watershed in the southwestern part of Slovenia, which is characterized by distinctive flushing, an almost torrential hydrological regime influenced by impermeable flysch geological settings. More than 15 recorded hydrographs which, in the hydrological and biogeochemical sense, differed substantially, disclosed a highly variable but at the same time a strong linkage between hydrological and biogeochemical controls of nitrate exports from the spatial perspective of a watershed. During most of the hydrographs, with the exception of early spring rainfall events, a positive relationship between the nitrate concentration and discharge was observed with peak nitrate concentrations having a time delay in the order of a few hours after the hydrograph peaks. Peak nitrate concentrations in periods of rainfall events span from 3.5mg/l-N in late spring to 14mg/l-N in the case of the autumn hydrograph. However, the dilution effect as a consequence of high event water contributions was observed in certain events. The role of specific hydrological events on the nitrate mobilization proved to be important as the size of the accumulated nitrate pool available for mobilization was large throughout most of the hydrographs. The biogeochemical environment of the forest soils presumably drastically alters the size of the available nitrate pool at the studied watershed and, together with the specific hydrological conditions, shifts the watershed from the flush-limited state in the late spring, summer and autumn to the source-limited state in winter and early spring. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Measurements of precipitation above the canopy, throughfall and stemflow were made on the south and north-facing slopes of a deciduous forest on the experimental watershed of the Dragonja river in SW Slovenia. The Dragonja watershed was chosen for the experimental watershed, being of interest because of intensive natural reforestation in the last decades that caused a decrease in minimum and maximum flows. At the same time no noticeable precipitation and temperature changes were observed. Two forest plots were selected. One is located on the north-facing slope (1419m2) and the other on the south-facing slope (615m2). Analyses and modelling were made for a 1-year period from October 2000 to September 2001. The leaf area index (LAI) was estimated by three methods, one direct and two indirect ones. The obtained values of LAI with the direct method were 6.6 and 6.9 for the south and north slopes, respectively. Measurements and regression analyses gave the mean annual throughfall value (±standard error) on the south plot 67.1 (±9.6)% of gross precipitation, and 71.5 (±11.6)% on the north plot. The average stemflow values were 4.5 (±0.8)% of gross precipitation on the south plot and 2.9 (±0.6)% on the north plot. The average annual interception losses amount to 28.4 (±4.1) and 25.4 (±4.0)% for the south and north slopes, respectively. In the study a significant influence of the south-east wind was proven. With regression analyses and the classification decision tree model it was established that at the events with more than 7mm of precipitation and south-east wind with a speed higher than 4m/s an unusually low amount of throughfall occurred and thus high interception losses. The analytical Gash model of rainfall interception () was successfully applied. The results of the modelling corresponded well to the observed values and were within the limits of the standard error of the observed values. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper gives an overview of the literature on available computer (simulation) models of stone falls and rockfalls, divided into 2D and 3D models. 2D models consider single blocks in the rockfall mass as lumped mass or a rigid body, and are used to assess the single rockfall runout distance. Opposed to the 2D models, 3D models are composed not only of a dispositional model (depicting rockfall source areas) and friction model (determination of deposition areas and maximum runout distances), but also from a trajectory model (determination of travel areas). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Reconstruction of the rainfall erosivity for Europe for the period 1961–2018. • Annual trend for 1675 stations is positive for 15% and negative for 7% stations. • Station-wise and regional Mann-Kendall tests are conducted. • The rainfall erosivity trend map shows increase in major part of EU. • Rainfall erosivity in Europe has, on average, increased for about 4%. 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debris floods can cause large economic damage and endanger human lives. This paper presents an extreme May 2018 debris flood that occurred in northern Slovenia near the Krvavec ski resort and caused large economic damage. The debris flood was initiated by an extreme rainfall event with a return period of over 50 years. There were large differences in the measured rainfall amounts using different equipment. The estimated volume of the debris material during the event was 4000 m3/km2 for the Brezovški graben. In order to mitigate the risk due to future debris flood and debris flow events, a check is planned to be constructed. The part of the design process is presented in this paper. Additionally, RAMMS model was used to validate the empirical equations that were used in the process of the check dam stability design. The model was calibrated using information about the deposition area. Two adjacent torrents were modelled, and we were not able to find a common RAMMS parameter set that would yield adequate simulation performance in both cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights from the article: WLF5 organizing committee called for preliminary registration of speakers for the WLF5. The orange bars present the number of speakers who selected to publish their papers in thematic issue "Sendai Landslide Partnerships 2015-2025" of Landslides as the first option (the total number is 143 speakers).

Debris flows with different magnitudes can have a large impact on debris fan characteristics such as height or slope. Moreover, knowledge about the impact of random sequences of debris flows of different magnitudes on debris fan properties is sparse in the literature and can be improved using numerical simulations of debris fan formation. Therefore, in this paper we present the results of numerical simulations wherein we investigated the impact of a random sequence of debris flows on torrential fan formation, where the total volume of transported debris was kept constant, but different rheological properties were used. Overall, 62 debris flow events with different magnitudes from 100 m3 to 20,000 m3 were selected, and the total volume was approximately 225,000 m3. The sequence of these debris flows was randomly generated, and selected debris fan characteristics after the 62 events were compared. For modeling purposes, we applied the Rapid Mass Movement Simulations (RAMMS) software and its debris flow module (RAMMS-DF). The modeling was carried out using (a) real fan topography from an alpine environment (i.e., an actual debris fan in north-west (NW) Slovenia formed by the Suhelj torrent) and (b) an artificial surface with a constant slope. Several RAMMS model parameters were tested. The simulation results confirm that the random sequence of debris flow events has only some minor effects on the fan formation (e.g., slope, maximum height), even when changing debris flow rheological properties in a wide range. After the 62 events, independent of the selected sequence of debris flows, the final fan characteristics were not significantly different from each other. Mann–Whitney (MW) tests and t-tests were used for this purpose, and the selected significance level was 0.05. Moreover, this conclusion applies for artificial and real terrain and for a wide range of tested RAMMS model rheological parameters. Further testing of the RAMMS-DF model in real situations is proposed in order to better understand its applicability and limitations under real conditions for debris flow hazard assessment or the planning of mitigation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]