IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v14y2025i3p512-d1602950.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Geotechnical Aspects of N(H)bSs for Enhancing Sub-Alpine Mountain Climate Resilience

Author

Listed:
  • Tamara Bračko

    (Faculty of Civil Engineering, Traffic Engineering and Architecture, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia)

  • Primož Jelušič

    (Faculty of Civil Engineering, Traffic Engineering and Architecture, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia)

  • Bojan Žlender

    (Faculty of Civil Engineering, Traffic Engineering and Architecture, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia)

Abstract

Mountain resilience is the ability of mountain regions to endure, adapt to, and recover from environmental, climatic, and anthropogenic stressors. Due to their steep topography, extreme weather conditions, and unique biodiversity, these areas are particularly vulnerable to climate change, natural hazards, and human activities. This paper examines how nature-based solutions (NbSs) can strengthen slope stability and geotechnical resilience, with a specific focus on Slovenia’s sub-Alpine regions as a case study representative of the Alps and similar mountain landscapes worldwide. The proposed Climate-Adaptive Resilience Evaluation (CARE) concept integrates geomechanical analysis with geotechnical planning, addressing the impacts of climate change through a systematic causal chain that connects climate hazards, their effects, and resulting consequences. Key factors such as water infiltration, soil permeability, and groundwater dynamics are identified as critical elements in designing timely and effective NbSs. In scenarios where natural solutions alone may be insufficient, hybrid solutions (HbSs) that combine nature-based and conventional engineering methods are highlighted as essential for managing unstable slopes and restoring collapsed geostructures. The paper provides practical examples, including slope stability analyses and reforestation initiatives, to illustrate how to use the CARE concept and how NbSs can mitigate geotechnical risks and promote sustainability. By aligning these approaches with regulatory frameworks and climate adaptation objectives, it underscores the potential for integrating NbSs and HbSs into comprehensive, long-term geotechnical strategies for enhancing mountain resilience.

Suggested Citation

  • Tamara Bračko & Primož Jelušič & Bojan Žlender, 2025. "Geotechnical Aspects of N(H)bSs for Enhancing Sub-Alpine Mountain Climate Resilience," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-32, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:3:p:512-:d:1602950
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/3/512/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/3/512/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Milena V. Sokolova & Brian D. Fath & Umberto Grande & Elvira Buonocore & Pier Paolo Franzese, 2024. "The Role of Green Infrastructure in Providing Urban Ecosystem Services: Insights from a Bibliometric Perspective," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-20, October.
    2. Leng Liu & Bo Liu & Wei Song & Hao Yu, 2023. "The Relationship between Rural Sustainability and Land Use: A Bibliometric Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-25, August.
    3. Jinping Liu & Mingzhe Li & Renzhi Li & Masoud Jafari Shalamzari & Yanqun Ren & Esmaeil Silakhori, 2025. "Comprehensive Assessment of Drought Susceptibility Using Predictive Modeling, Climate Change Projections, and Land Use Dynamics for Sustainable Management," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-37, February.
    4. Diego Mejía-Veintimilla & Pablo Ochoa-Cueva & Juan Arteaga-Marín, 2024. "Evaluation of the Hydrological Response to Land Use Change Scenarios in Urban and Non-Urban Mountain Basins in Ecuador," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-13, November.
    5. Todd BenDor & T William Lester & Avery Livengood & Adam Davis & Logan Yonavjak, 2015. "Estimating the Size and Impact of the Ecological Restoration Economy," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-15, June.
    6. Kangmin Kim & Jeon-Young Kang & Chulsue Hwang, 2025. "Identifying Indicators Contributing to the Social Vulnerability Index via a Scoping Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-29, January.
    7. Ashenafi Mehari & Paolo Vincenzo Genovese, 2023. "A Land Use Planning Literature Review: Literature Path, Planning Contexts, Optimization Methods, and Bibliometric Methods," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-41, October.
    8. Shuchang Li & Jinshi Zhang, 2024. "Landscape Character Identification and Zoning Management in Disaster-Prone Mountainous Areas: A Case Study of Mentougou District, Beijing," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-20, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhixiu Li & Shixi Cheng & Lin Xiao & Yangyang Wei & Tianchuan Fang, 2025. "Sustainability Benefit Evaluation and Optimization of Rural Public Spaces Under Self-Organization Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-34, January.
    2. Chuntian Pan & Jun Wen & Jianing Ma, 2024. "Temporal and Spatial Variation in Habitat Quality in Guangxi Based on PLUS-InVEST Model," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-23, December.
    3. Langhans, Kelley E. & Schmitt, Rafael J.P. & Chaplin-Kramer, Rebecca & Anderson, Christopher B. & Vargas Bolaños, Christian & Vargas Cabezas, Fermin & Dirzo, Rodolfo & Goldstein, Jesse A. & Horangic, , 2022. "Modeling multiple ecosystem services and beneficiaries of riparian reforestation in Costa Rica," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    4. Alex W. Ireland & Laura J. Napoli & Katherine A. Basiotis & Emily J. Voldstad & Kayhan Ostovar, 2020. "Potential conservation benefits of a voluntary corporate certification program," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 4889-4905, June.
    5. Etienne de L'Estoile & Mathilde Salin, 2024. "Who Takes the Land? Quantifying the Use of Built-Up Land by French Economic Sectors to Assess Their Vulnerability to the No Net Land Take Policy," Working papers 941, Banque de France.
    6. Michael Manton & Evaldas Makrickas & Piotr Banaszuk & Aleksander Kołos & Andrzej Kamocki & Mateusz Grygoruk & Marta Stachowicz & Leonas Jarašius & Nerijus Zableckis & Jūratė Sendžikaitė & Jan Peters &, 2021. "Assessment and Spatial Planning for Peatland Conservation and Restoration: Europe’s Trans-Border Neman River Basin as a Case Study," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-27, February.
    7. Valencia Torres, Angélica & Tiwari, Chetan & Atkinson, Samuel F., 2021. "Progress in ecosystem services research: A guide for scholars and practitioners," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    8. Esmee D. Kooijman & Siobhan McQuaid & Mary-Lee Rhodes & Marcus J. Collier & Francesco Pilla, 2021. "Innovating with Nature: From Nature-Based Solutions to Nature-Based Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, January.
    9. Ewelina Szałkiewicz & Szymon Jusik & Mateusz Grygoruk, 2018. "Status of and Perspectives on River Restoration in Europe: 310,000 Euros per Hectare of Restored River," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, January.
    10. Angela Köppl & Margit Schratzenstaller, 2022. "Macroeconomic Effects of Green Recovery Programmes. Conceptual Framing and a Review of the Empirical Literature," WIFO Working Papers 646, WIFO.
    11. Shuai Tong & Jianjie Gao & Fengyu Wang & Xiang Ji, 2023. "Research on Township Industry Development under GEP Accounting—A Case Study of Hanwang Town in Xuzhou City," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-20, July.
    12. Grazia Sveva Ascione & Federico Cuomo & Nicole Mariotti & Laura Corazza, 2021. "Urban Living Labs, Circular Economy and Nature-Based Solutions: Ideation and Testing of a New Soil in the City of Turin Using a Multi-stakeholder Perspective," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 545-562, September.
    13. Edward B. Barbier, 2022. "The Policy Implications of the Dasgupta Review: Land Use Change and Biodiversity," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 83(4), pages 911-935, December.
    14. Alfath Satria Negara Syaban & Seth Appiah-Opoku, 2024. "Unveiling the Complexities of Land Use Transition in Indonesia’s New Capital City IKN Nusantara: A Multidimensional Conflict Analysis," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-36, April.
    15. Kang Li & Hui Qian & Siqi Li & Zhiming Cao & Panpan Tian & Xiaoxin Shi & Jie Chen & Yanyan Gao, 2025. "Quantifying the Driving Forces of Water Conservation Using Geodetector with Optimized Parameters: A Case Study of the Yiluo River Basin," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-26, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:3:p:512-:d:1602950. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.