Landslide susceptibility mapping by frequency ratio and logistic regression methods: an example from Niksar–Resadiye (Tokat, Turkey)

Turkey confronts loss of life and large economic losses due to natural disasters caused by its morphologic structure, geographical placement, and climate characteristics. The Kuzulu (Koyulhisar) landslide, which caused loss of life and property on 17th March 2005, occurred in an area near the country’s most important active fault, the North Anatolian Fault Zone. To mitigate and prevent landslide damages, prediction of landslide susceptibility areas based on probabilistic methods has a great importance. The purpose of this study was to produce a landslide susceptibility map by the logistic regression and frequency ratio methodologies for a 733-km2 area near the North Anatolian Fault Zone from the southeast of Niksar to Resadiye in Tokat province. Conditioning parameters, such as elevation, slope gradient, slope aspect, distance to streams, roads, and faults, drainage density, and fault density, were used in the analysis. Before susceptibility analysis, the landslides observed in the area were separated into two groups for use in analysis and verification, respectively. The susceptibility maps produced had five different susceptibility classes such as very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. To test the performance of the susceptibility maps, area under curve (AUC) approach was used. For the logistic regression method, the AUC value was 0.708; while for the frequency rate method, this value was 0.744. According to these AUC values, it could be concluded that the two landslide susceptibility maps obtained were successful.