Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTSs) have become a dominant geomorphic event in permafrost regions due to the modern climate change. However, the roles of topographic, vegetation, and soil factors in influencing the spatial distribution and recurrence of RTSs remain not fully understood. Here, we identified the formation and recurrence of 459 RTSs during 2008–2021 using satellite images of the central Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (Northwest of the Beiluhe Basin, 239 km2). We found that the topographic and environmental attributes of the RTSs exhibited strong correlations with the variation in the RTS density. The RTS‐affected areas had a higher slope, elevation, relative slope position, normalized difference vegetation index, soil water content, and lower soil bulk density than other landscapes. Regarding the influence of topographic and environmental attributes on the activity status of RTSs during 2018–2020, we found that the higher slope, elevation, and soil water content were advantageous for the activity of the RTSs. The RTSs with larger sizes and presenting an elongated shape were more likely to be active. Additionally, we examined the variation of the headwall shape of RTSs based on the fractal dimension and UAV‐based orthophoto. We found that the headwall shape of RTSs becomes more complicated due to the small‐scale thawing of ice‐rich permafrost, which may further induce subsequent thaw slumping. Higher air temperature triggers new RTSs, and increased precipitation may be responsible for the further activity of RTSs. Our findings can enhance our understanding of the development pattern and mechanism of RTSs in permafrost regions.

Rainfall-induced shallow landslides are widespread throughout the world, and vegetation is frequently utilized to control them. However, in recent years, shallow landslides have continued to frequently occur during the rainy season on the vegetated slopes of the Loess Plateau in China. To better probe this phenomenon, we considered vegetation cover in the sensitivity analysis of landslide hazards and used the transient rainfall infiltration and grid-based regional slope stability (TRIGRS) model to quantitatively describe the impacts of different types of vegetation cover on slope stability. Based on the rainfall information for landslide events, the spatiotemporal distributions of the pore water pressure and the factor of safety of the vegetated slopes were inverted under the driving changes in the soil properties under different vegetation types, and the average prediction accuracy reached 79.88%. It was found that there was a strong positive correlation between the cumulative precipitation and the proportion of landslide-prone areas in woodland covered by tall trees, grassland covered by shrubs and grasses, and cultivated land. The highest landslide susceptibility, which has the greatest potential to hasten the occurrence of rainfall-induced landslides, is found in woodland with tall trees. Therefore, this paper proposes the promoting relationship between vegetation and landslide erosion, which provides a new scientific perspective on watershed management to prevent shallow landslide disasters and manage and develop watershed vegetation.