ALBERT

Description: An integrated investigation has been carried out over the soils involved in the landslide phenomena occurred in the 2006 at Mt. Vezzi in the Ischia island (southern Italy). Chemical, physical (i.e. particle size distribution, hydrological analyses and direct measurements of soil porosity), mineralogical and micromorphological properties of three soil profiles selected in two of the main detachment crowns were analysed. The studied soils, having a volcanic origin, showed a substantial abrupt discontinuity of all the studied properties in correspondence of the 2C horizon, also identified as sliding surface of the landslide phenomena. With respect to the above horizons, the 2C showed (i) as a grey fine ash, almost pumices free, with a silt content increased by the 20%, (ii) ks values one order of magnitude lower, (iii) a porosity concentrated in the small size (15 to 30 μm modal class) pores characterized by very low percolation threshold (around 15–25 μm), (iv) occurrence of expandable clay minerals and (v) higher Na content in the exchange complex. Therefore, most of these properties indicated 2C as a lower permeability horizon than the above. Nevertheless, only the identification of a thin (6.5 mm) finely stratified ash layer on the top of 2C enabled to assume this interface as an impeding layer to vertical and horizontal water fluxes, as testified by the hydromorphic features (e.g. Fe / Mn concretions) within and on the top of the layer. Despite the Mt. Vezzi soil environment has many properties (high gradient northern facing slope, similar forestry, volcanic origin of the parent material) in common with those of many Campania debris-mud flows, the results of this study did not support the found relationship between Andosols and debris-mudflows, but emphasize the role of vertical discontinuities as landslide predisposing factor.