Domination of hillslope denudation by tree uprooting in an old-growth forest

Phillips, Jonathan D.; Šamonil, Pavel; Pawlik, Łukasz; Trochta, Jan; Daněk, Pavel

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.10.006

Cited by 60 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…These changes, in turn, control patterns of forest regeneration after disturbance and its further long-term evolution. The origin of pit-and-mound microtopography is probably the most striking example of biophysical interactions between trees, soils, and ground surface (Denny and Goodlett 1956;Phillips et al 2008Phillips et al , 2017Gabet and Mudd 2010;Šamonil et al 2010aBobrovsky and Loyko 2016) and it does constitute a sort of ecological and soil memory. Its formation and present-day morphology may record events that occurred in the past and whose effects remain visible or available to detect by dedicated research methods from the field of dendrochronology (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deciphering the history of forest disturbance and its effects on landforms and soils – lessons from a pit-and-mound locality at Rogowa Kopa, Sudetes, SW Poland

Pawlik

Musielok

Migoń³

et al. 2017

Bulletin of Geography. Physical Geography Series

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Abstract. The historical dimension of pit-and-mound topography has been studied at the Mt Rogowa Kopa locality, Stołowe Mountains, SW Poland. This site represents one of the best developed regional examples of hummocky forest floor relief due to widespread tree uprooting and subsequent degradation of root plates. Through map analysis and dendrochronology the disturbance history was traced to at least the 1930s and, most likely, a strong wind episode from 1933 was the reason for the forest calamity that resulted in the nearly total destruction of the original stand. However, the affected forest was a planted Norway spruce monoculture, introduced and managed until at least the beginning of the 20 th century, and not a natural forest. The windthrow niche was then used by beech, whose individuals preferentially chose mounds to grow, conserving the hummocky microtopography. Changes in soil evolutionary pathways brought about by wind-driven disturbance include both haploidisation (rejuvenation) and horizonation (differentiation). Evidence of soil rejuvenation includes a decrease in organic carbon content and an increase in pH in the upper parts of soils developed on mounds relative to the pH of undisturbed references soils. Soil texture was relatively homogenised in pits and mounds. Dating of the pit-and-mound microrelief by means of soil properties (organic carbon content, iron forms) was only partly successful. Although the young age of pits and mounds is evident, the actual age inferred from soil properties was underestimated by a few tens of years. Evaluation of factors potentially controlling the propensity to widespread treethrow suggests that the type of forest is a far more important variable than local abiotic factors of bedrock geology, regolith characteristics, and slope inclination.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deciphering the history of forest disturbance and its effects on landforms and soils – lessons from a pit-and-mound locality at Rogowa Kopa, Sudetes, SW Poland

Pawlik

Musielok

Migoń³

et al. 2017

Bulletin of Geography. Physical Geography Series

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“…The substantially greater discharge-normalized sediment concentrations, and coarsening of suspended sediment, after early January 2017 were contemporaneous with numerous landslides that damaged roads, buildings, and other infrastructure (Figure 2(C)). Gallaway et al, 2009;Phillips et al, 2017) was evident throughout the San Lorenzo basin (Figure 8). Gallaway et al, 2009;Phillips et al, 2017) was evident throughout the San Lorenzo basin (Figure 8).…”

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confidence: 99%

A regime shift in sediment export from a coastal watershed during a record wet winter, California: Implications for landscape response to hydroclimatic extremes

East

Stevens

Ritchie

et al. 2018

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Small, steep watersheds are prolific sediment sources from which sediment flux is highly sensitive to climatic changes. Storm intensity and frequency are widely expected to increase during the 21st century, and so assessing the response of small, steep watersheds to extreme rainfall is essential to understanding landscape response to climate change. During record winter rainfall in 2016–2017, the San Lorenzo River, coastal California, had nine flow peaks representing 2–10‐year flood magnitudes. By the third flood, fluvial suspended sediment showed a regime shift to greater and coarser sediment supply, coincident with numerous landslides in the watershed. Even with no singular catastrophic flood, these flows exported more than half as much sediment as had a 100‐year flood 35 years earlier, substantially enlarging the nearshore delta. Annual sediment load in 2017 was an order of magnitude greater than during an average‐rainfall year, and 500‐fold greater than in a recent drought. These anomalous sediment inputs are critical to the coastal littoral system, delivering enough sediment, sometimes over only a few days, to maintain beaches for several years. Future projections of megadroughts punctuated by major atmospheric‐river storm activity suggest that interannual sediment‐yield variations will become more extreme than today in the western USA, with potential consequences for coastal management, ecosystems, and water‐storage capacity. The occurrence of two years with major sediment export over the past 35 years that were not associated with extremes of the El Niño Southern Oscillation or Pacific Decadal Oscillation suggests caution in interpreting climatic signals from marine sedimentary deposits derived from small, steep, coastal watersheds, to avoid misinterpreting the frequencies of those cycles. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

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“…This individual‐based approach allowed us to study biogeomorphic features on the scale of the individual tree. In this 10.2 ha core area, there were 3956 standing trees or laying undecomposed tree trunks in 2016, and the following BETs were assessed (see Figure , Supporting Information Figures S1 (a)–(j)): Treethrow (uprooting; sensu Šamonil et al ., ) Root mound (sensu Hoffman and Anderson, ) Bioprotective function of a standing tree (we focused on the deposition‐promoting, transport‐blocking effects; anchoring, erosion‐prevention effect was not studied here, see Pawlik, ) Bioprotective function of a lying tree, including a log dam (see Pawlik, ) Trunk baumstein (sensu Phillips and Marion, ) Root baumstein (a newly‐established process that has never been studied before) Stump infilling (see Bolte et al ., – using allometric equations, Phillips and Marion, – using taproot depth, see d in Figure S1(b)) Hole after trunk fall (a newly‐established process that has never been studied before) Stemwash (sensu Phillips et al ., ) Trunkwash (sensu Phillips et al ., ) Trunk and root system displacement (sensu Bolte et al ., ) …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Previous studies have demonstrated the significance of tree uprooting dynamics on biogeomorphology and pedology. Uprooted trees can move boulders heavier than 4 tons (Lutz, ), their root‐plates can reach areas of up to 40 m 2 (Šamonil et al ., ) and volumes up to 60 m 3 (Phillips et al ., ). Moreover, radiometric dating of treethrow features has revealed that typical post‐disturbance pit‐mound microtopography can persist for more than 6000 years (Šamonil et al ., ), and these forms can cover up to 90% of a forest area (Karpachevskiy et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biomechanical effects of trees in an old‐growth temperate forest

Šamonil

Daněk

Senecká

et al. 2018

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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The role of biomechanical effects of trees (BETs) in ecosystem and landscape dynamics is poorly understood. In this study, we aim to (i) describe a widely applicable methodology for quantifying the main BETs in soil, and (ii) analyze the actual frequencies, areas and soil volumes associated with these effects in a mountain temperate old‐growth forest. The research took place in the Boubínský Primeval Forest in the Czech Republic; this forest reserve, predominated by Fagus sylvatica L. and Picea abies (L.) Karst., is among the oldest protected areas in Europe. We evaluated the effects of 4000 standing and lying trees in an area of 10.2 ha from the viewpoint of the following features: tree uprooting, root mounding, bioprotection, trunk baumsteins (rock fragments displaced by trunk growth), root baumsteins, stump hole infilling, trunk and root systems displacements, depressions formed after trunk fall, stemwash, and trunkwash. BETs were recorded in 59% of standing and 51% of lying dead trees (excluding the pervasive soil displacement by thickening trunks and roots and the infilling of decayed stumps). Approximately one tenth of the trees showed simultaneous bioprotective and bioerosion effects. Different tree species and size categories exhibited significantly different biomechanical effects. A bioprotective function was the most frequent phenomenon observed, while treethrows prevailed from the viewpoint of areas and soil volumes affected. The total area influenced by the BETs was 342 m2 ha−1. An additional 774 m2 ha−1 were occupied by older treethrow pit‐mounds with already decayed uprooted trunks. The total volume of soil associated with the studied phenomena was 322 m3 ha−1, and apart from treethrows, volumes of the living and decaying root systems and bioprotective functions predominated. Other processes were not so frequent but still significant for biogeomorphology. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Domination of hillslope denudation by tree uprooting in an old-growth forest

Cited by 60 publications

References 47 publications

Deciphering the history of forest disturbance and its effects on landforms and soils – lessons from a pit-and-mound locality at Rogowa Kopa, Sudetes, SW Poland

Deciphering the history of forest disturbance and its effects on landforms and soils – lessons from a pit-and-mound locality at Rogowa Kopa, Sudetes, SW Poland

A regime shift in sediment export from a coastal watershed during a record wet winter, California: Implications for landscape response to hydroclimatic extremes

Biomechanical effects of trees in an old‐growth temperate forest

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