Mechanical Behavior of Critical Geo-materials and Landslide Evolution Processes

Dear Colleagues,

Landslides are complex geological processes driven by the interplay of mechanical weakening, hydrologic forcing, and structural heterogeneity. Critical geo-materials (e.g., slip zones and weak intercalation) act as "weak links" controlling landslide initiation and progression. Traditional stability analyses often oversimplify these interactions, neglecting time-dependent behaviors such as creep, fatigue, and rate-dependent strength degradation. Recent advancements in multi-scale monitoring (e.g., InSAR and distributed fiber optics) and high-fidelity modeling (e.g., material point method and discrete element modeling) have revealed the nonlinear evolution of landslides, yet challenges remain in quantifying feedback between mechanical behavior and environmental triggers. With increasing climate extremes and human activities, understanding landslide evolution is critical for early warning and infrastructure resilience. This Special Issue addresses gaps involving mechanism-driven modeling, dynamic parameterization, uncertainty quantification, etc. The issue complements the journal’s focus on geotechnical risk management by providing novel methodologies and field applications.

The goal of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) to give insights about the understanding of mechanical interactions within landslide-critical geo-materials (e.g., slip zones and weak interlayers) and their role in controlling landslide evolution. We seek interdisciplinary studies integrating geomechanics, hydrology, and advanced monitoring to unravel dynamic failure mechanisms and improve predictive models. We anticipate that this Special Issue will encompass the nonlinear behavior of geological materials, multi-physics coupling effects, and evolution stage characterization under natural/anthropogenic triggers.

This Special Issue welcomes manuscripts that link the following themes:

• Mechanical behavior of slip zones: strain softening effect, rate-dependent strength, cyclic loading effects, and microstructural evolution.
• Hydromechanical coupling: pore pressure dynamics, unsaturated seepage, and drainage control.
• Evolution stage characterization: deformation rate thresholds, acoustic emission patterns, and precursor identification.
• Multi-scale modeling: from grain-scale DEM simulations to regional risk mapping.
• Case studies: evolution analyses of reservoir, seismic, or rainfall-triggered landslides.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. Shu Zhang

Dr. Shuangfeng Guo

Dr. Qinwen Tan

Dr. Xuexue Su

Guest Editors

Dr. Shu Zhang
Dr. Shuangfeng Guo
Dr. Qinwen Tan
Dr. Xuexue Su
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• Landslide evolution
• Geo-material mechanics
• Multi-field coupling
• Rate-dependent strength
• Hydromechanical interaction
• Progressive failure
• Risk prediction
• Numerical modeling
• Field experiments.