Analyzing the influence of non-landslide sample selection on landslide susceptibility: Case studies from Wenchuan, Lixian and Maoxian Counties

This research explores the integration of machine learning in assessing landslide susceptibility, scrutinizing the selection of non-landslide samples. Taking Wenchuan County, Lixian County, and Maoxian County in Sichuan Province as the study areas, 7 evaluation factors were considered, including slope, aspect, elevation, distance to the water system, distance to the fault, lithology, and land use. Non-landslide samples were randomly selected from the lower and extremely low susceptibility zones divided by the information value model (I), weight of evidence model(WOE), coefficient of determination model (CF), and frequency ratio model(FR), as well as form the buffer zones (B) and the entire region (G). These samples were then analyzed using a support vector machine (SVM) model. The results showed that the AUC values for I-SVM, WOE-SVM, CF-SVM, and FR-SVM were 0.9804, 0.9726, 0.9368, and 0.8451, respectively, which were superior to the AUC values of B-SVM (0.7869) and G-SVM (0.7389). This highlight the effectiveness of using mathematical-statistical models for the selection of non-landslide samples, with particular emphasis on the accuracy of the information value model. This study offers a novel approach to selecting non-landslide samples, significantly enhancing predictive accuracy in landslide susceptibility assessments.