The role played by mountain tracks on rainfallinduced shallow landslides: a case study

Mountain tracks often play a key role for landslide occurrence inside shallowsoil deposits affecting both superficial and sub-superficial groundwater circulation. This isessentially related to local changes of topography and soil hydraulic conductivity.Significant examples of tracks-related landslides were observed during the event thataffected the Campania region (Southern Italy) in May 1998. These phenomena occurredinside source areas characterised by complex landforms, stratigraphy and groundwaterregime. Referring to this event, the paper addresses the role played by the stratigraphy onthe first-failure stage by using limit equilibrium and stress-strain analyses. The numericalresults outline some important aspects that must be carefully considered in analyses aimedat an advanced characterisation of landslide source areas.