Quantification of biogeomorphic interactions between small‐scale sediment transport and primary vegetation succession on proglacial slopes of the Gepatschferner, Austria

Abstract

Proglacial slopes provide suitable conditions for observing the co-development of abiotic and biotic systems. The frequency and magnitude of geomorphic processes and plant composition govern this interplay, which is described in the model of biogeomorphic succession. In high mountain environments, this model has only been tested in a limited number of studies. The study aimed to quantify small-scale sediment transport via erosion plots along a plant cover gradient and to investigate the influence of sediment transport on plant communities. We aimed to generate quantitative data to test existing biogeomorphic models. Small-scale biogeomorphic interactions were investigated on 30 test plots of 2 Â 3 m size on proglacial slopes of the Gepatschferner (Kaunertal) in the Austrian Alps during the snow-free summer months over three consecutive years. The experimental plots were established on slopes along a plant cover gradient. A detailed vegetation survey was carried out to capture biotic conditions, and specific sediment yield was measured at each plot.Species abundance and composition at each site reflected successional stages.Additional environmental parameters, such as terrain age, geomorphometry, grain size distribution, soil nutrients, and precipitation, were also included in the analyses. We observed two pronounced declines in geomorphic activity on plots with both above 30% and above 75% plant cover. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling showed distinct clusters of vegetation composition that mainly followed a successional gradient. Sites that were affected by high-magnitude geomorphic events showed different environmental conditions and species communities.Quantified process rates and observed species composition support the concept of biogeomorphic succession. The findings help to narrow down a biogeomorphic feedback window.

Plant–plant interactions determine natural restoration of plant biodiversity over time, in a degraded mined land

“…Differences in biodiversity indices were calculated across all studied sites. To measure differences in plant biodiversity, we used Kruskal–Wallis tests followed by Dunn's post hoc tests with Bonferroni correction (Haselberger et al, 2021 ) by subtracting control sites from sites in different ages of abandonment and comparing across all studied sites with available data (Haselberger et al, 2021 ).…”

Primary succession and its driving variables – a holistic approach applied in three proglacial areas in the upper Martell Valley (Eastern Italian Alps)

“…3b). Most studies included solar radiation (n = 11) (e.g., Caccianiga and Andreis, 2004;D'Amico et al, 2017;Fickert, 2020;Lambert et al, 2020), years since deglaciation (n = 43) (e.g., Fickert and Grüninger, 2018;Jiang et al, 2018;Franzén et al, 2019;Knoflach et al, 2021;Wei et al, 2021), soil moisture (n = 9) (e.g., Matthews and Whittaker, 1987;Andreis et al, 2001;Raffl and Erschbamer, 2004;Szymański et al, 2019;Fickert, 2020), elevation (n = 22) (e.g., Carlson et al, 2014;Schumann et al, 2016;Llambí et al, 2021;Wei et al, 2021), inclination (n = 15) (e.g., D'Amico et al, 2017;Haselberger et al, 2021;Wietrzyk-Pelka et al, 2021), aspect (n = 14) (e.g., Caccianiga and Andreis, 2004;Raffl and Erschbamer, 2004;Fickert, 2017;Lambert et al, 2020;Wietrzyk-Pelka et al, 2021), and disturbance (n = 9) (e.g., Matthews and Whittaker, 1987;Andreis et al, 2001;Eichel, 2019) as well as soil-related parameters such as organic carbon (n = 16) (e.g., D'Amico et al, 2014;Jiang et al, 2018;Wietrzyk et al, 2018;Losapio et al, 2021), nitrogen (n = 14) (e.g., Raffl et al, 2006;Burga et al, 2010;Fickert, 2020;Wei et al, 2021), and pH (n ...…”

Special issue: German Society for Geomorphology

“…Haselberger et al ( 2021 ) quantified small‐scale sediment transport along a plant cover and plant diversity gradient on proglacial slopes in the Kauner valley, Austrian Alps. Over 3 years, highest specific sediment yields (SSY) were found at the start of the plant growing season, after snow melt.…”

“…They employed a small and easy-to-handle acoustic sensor network to record the ground motion of sediment agitation along a second-order stream in the Cascade Mountain Range, NW USA. This represents a new tool to monitor the lifecycles of fish and their role in modifying riverbed morphologies, which is of combined interest for biologists, fisheries, river restoration and fluvial geomorphologists Haselberger et al (2021). quantified small-scale sediment transport along a plant cover and plant diversity gradient on proglacial slopes in the Kauner valley, Austrian Alps.…”