By conducting a thorough soil survey, analysing soil characteristics, evaluating environmental factors, and assessing building foundations, property buyers and investors can better understand the subsidence risk and take appropriate measures to mitigate it.

Land subsidence is a gradual settling or sudden sinking of the Earth’s surface owing to subsurface movement of earth materials. The principal causes of land subsidence are aquifer-system compaction, drainage of organic soils, underground mining, hydrocompaction, natural compaction, sinkholes, and thawing permafrost.

Both subsidence and settlement are forms of soil displacement that lead to elevation changes. Simply put, subsidence is when the elevation of land is lowered due to underground changes. Around the world, subsidence is a costly issue.

Subsidence is the downward movement of soil, usually due to withdrawal of moisture. Soil shrinks when water is removed from it and, because trees pull a lot of water from the ground that they transpire through their leaves into the atmosphere, the roots can cause soil subsidence that corresponds roughly to the area under the drip line of the ...

Soil types and foundation types are two of these influential elements, which significantly impact the risk of subsidence. In this discussion, we delve into the details of each factor, explore the relationship between different soil and foundation types, and evaluate their effects on subsidence risk.