A new approach for landslide susceptibility assessments based on KDE-MDBN: A case study from mountainous regions impacted by the Wenchuan earthquake, China

Earthquake-stricken areas are characterized by frequent and long-lasting geological disasters. Therefore, a scientific and reasonable study on the spatial prediction of post-earthquake landslide hazards is beneficial to the sustainable development of these areas. Firstly, the spatial effects of landslide hazards are analyzed using KDE, and the singularity index is used to delineate the area where negative samples can be selected to reduce the impact of uncertainty on the model. Secondly, eight landslide influencing factors are selected, and the weights of each influencing factor are calculated by using a geodetector. Finally, the traditional binary dependent variable approach is changed, and a KDE-MDBN landslide hazard spatial susceptibility assessment model is constructed. The research indicates that the assessment model based on KDE-MDBN can accurately reflect the characteristics of the spatial distribution of landslide hazards in the area. The results of presented in this paper can provide reference information for subsequent susceptibility assessments.