Surface processes and interactions with forest vegetation on a steep mudstone slope, Stołowe Mountains, SW Poland

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)



Description :
The AA. recognize complex physical biotic–abiotic interactions on a steep forested slope in the Sudetes, using geomorphological, pedological, and dendrochronological methods. On the forested hillslopes of Mt Rogowa Kopa the evidence of disturbance in natural systems is widespread. In the geomorphic subsystem its most obvious manifestation is the origin and disappearance of pit-and-mound microtopography resulting from tree uprooting. 82 pit-and-mound associations have been mapped on a test slope, providing quantitative data for calculating sediment flux. Tree bending and abrupt changes in tree ring width are indicators of disturbed tree growth, causally linked to soil creep of mudstone-derived regolith. Eccentric growth is best recorded in wet years and in younger trees, which have to adapt to the pre-existing pit-and-mound surface topography. The AA. offer a conceptual model that links biotic and abiotic factors and discuss implications of the widespread tree uprooting. They suggest that veneers of angular clasts and occasional larger boulders are not necessarily residuals of washed Pleistocene solifluction mantles but may result from root plate degradation after uprooting.


Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Catena (Giessen), issn : 0341-8162, 2013, vol. 109, p. 203-216, nombre de pages : 14, Références bibliographiques : 1 p.

Date :
2013

Editeur :
Pays édition : Allemagne, Cremlingen-Destedt, Catena