Significance of extreme hydro-geomorphological events in the transformation of mountain valleys (Northern Slopes of the Western Tatra Range, Carpathian Mountains, Poland)

Gorczyca, Elżbieta; Krzemień, Kazimierz; Wrońska-Wałach, Dominika; Boniecki, Mariusz

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2014.05.004

Cited by 19 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…During these events, the highest magnitude of changes is observed in the valley floors and colluvial‐alluvial fans (Gorczyca et al . ). Our study is an example of a different extreme event, which also caused significant geomorphological changes affecting the whole hillslope.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Geomorphological changes within a hillslope caused by a windthrow event in the tatra mountains, southern poland

Strzyżowski

Fidelus

Żelazny

2016

Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography

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Tree uprooting plays an important role in hillslope evolution. The geomorphological impact of tree uprooting after a foehn wind occurrence, in December 2013 in the Tatra Mountains, was investigated. Geomorphological mapping was conducted in three watersheds. Additionally, in one of the watersheds, 459 windthrow pits were measured, in an area of 6.4 ha. The mean volume of a pit was 2.41 m 3 , and the mean surface area was 5.47 m 2 . 3.9% of the area was affected by windthrow pits, however locally the magnitude of changes was significantly higher, reaching up to 14.5% of the surface area. Slope inclination weakly influenced the effects of uprooting, and a decrease in the average depth of pits on steep slopes was observed. Individual windthrow pits (five cases) initiated the activity of geomorphological processes, and two cases of periodic springs were noted. Changes in the relief of small landforms caused by tree uprooting were documented. Windthrow creation facilitated the delivery of the soil material from the slopes into the channels.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Geomorphological changes within a hillslope caused by a windthrow event in the tatra mountains, southern poland

Strzyżowski

Fidelus

Żelazny

2016

Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography

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“…Floodwaters are an extremely effective channel-shaping factor. Large floods, in particular, are effective in floodplain development [25,[56][57][58][59][60][61]. Their significance is examined in this section in terms of how they affect spontaneous renaturalization in a gravel-bed river during the post-regulation period, in this case, the Raba River.…”

Section: Role Of High Water Stages In the Evolution Of A Post-regulatmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Evolution of Gravel-Bed Rivers during the Post-Regulation Period in the Polish Carpathians

Gorczyca

Krzemień

Jarzyna

2020

Water

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This study provides a conceptual model of the functioning of gravel-bed rivers during the post-regulation period in Poland and forecasts their subsequent evolution. The main difference between fluvial processes during the pre-regulation and post-regulation period is that they are limited to a zone that is currently several times narrower and trapped in a deep-cut channel. During the river post-regulation period, the construction of additional river training works was significantly limited in river channels. Moreover, all forms of economic activity were significantly reduced in the channel free migration zone, particularly bed gravel extraction operations. As a result of these changes, a limited recovery of the functioning and hydromorphology of the river channel occurred via a return to conditions in effect prior to river regulation. In recovering sections of river, the channel gradually broadens, and its sinuosity and number of threads increase. The overall process can be called spontaneous renaturalization, which yields a characteristic post-regulation river channel. The conceptual model was developed on the basis of the evolution of the gravel-bed river, the Raba River, during the post-regulation period in the Polish Carpathian Mountains.

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“…The Tatra Mountains, culminating at 2,663 m a.s.l., belong to the Alpine orogeny and feature a typical high-mountain character (Kotarba et al 1987;Krzemień 1992). However, the northern periphery of the massif is characterized by a middle-mountain relief, including its characteristic fluvio-denudational morphology (Gorczyca et al 2014). The study area is located at the lower part of the Kościeliska Valley (49°16' N, 19°52' E) and includes the northern slope of the Western Tatra Mountains, descending steeply from 1100-1330 m a.s.l.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

The intensity of slope and fluvial processes after a catastrophic windthrow event in small catchments in the Tatra Mountains

et al. 2021

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Strong wind events frequently result in creating large areas of windthrow, which causes abrupt environmental changes. Bare soil surfaces within pits and root plates potentially expose soil to erosion. Absence of forest may alter the dynamics of water circulation. In this study we attempt to answer the question of whether extensive windthrows influence the magnitude of geomorphic processes in 6 small second- to third-order catchments with area ranging from 0.09 km2 to 0.8 km2. Three of the catchments were significantly affected by a windthrow which occurred in December 2013 in the Polish part of the Tatra Mountains, and the other three catchments were mostly forested and served as control catchments. We mapped the pits created by the windthrow and the linear scars created by salvage logging operations in search of any signs of erosion within them. We also mapped all post-windthrow landslides created in the windthrow-affected catchments. The impact of the windthrow on the fluvial system was investigated by measuring a set of channel characteristics and determining bedload transport intensity using painted tracers in all the windthrow-affected and control catchments. Both pits and linear scars created by harvesting tend to become overgrown by vegetation in the first several years after the windthrow. The only signs of erosion were observed in 10% of the pits located on convergent slopes. During the period from the windthrow event in 2013 until 2019, 5 very small (total area <100 m2) shallow landslides were created. The mean distance of bedload transport was similar (t-test, p=0.05) in most of the windthrow-affected and control catchments. The mapping of channels revealed many cases of root plates fallen into a channel and pits created near a channel. A significant amount of woody debris delivered into the channels influenced the activity of fluvial processes by creating alternating zones of erosion and accumulation.

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Significance of extreme hydro-geomorphological events in the transformation of mountain valleys (Northern Slopes of the Western Tatra Range, Carpathian Mountains, Poland)

Cited by 19 publications

References 26 publications

Geomorphological changes within a hillslope caused by a windthrow event in the tatra mountains, southern poland

Geomorphological changes within a hillslope caused by a windthrow event in the tatra mountains, southern poland

The Evolution of Gravel-Bed Rivers during the Post-Regulation Period in the Polish Carpathians

The intensity of slope and fluvial processes after a catastrophic windthrow event in small catchments in the Tatra Mountains

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