View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ResearchOnline@GCU Shallow landslides as drivers for slope ecosystems evolution and biophysical diversity Gonzalez-Ollauri, Alejandro; Mickovski, Slobodan B. Published in: Landslides DOI: 10.1007/s10346-017-0822-y Publication date: 2017 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in ResearchOnline Citation for published version (Harvard): Gonzalez-Ollauri, A & Mickovski, SB 2017, 'Shallow landslides as drivers for slope ecosystems evolution and biophysical diversity', Landslides, vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 1699-1714. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-017-0822-y General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please view our takedown policy at https://edshare.gcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/5179 for details of how to contact us. Download date: 29. Apr. 2020 Original Paper Landslides Alejandro Gonzalez-Ollauri I Slobodan B. Mickovski DOI 10.1007/s10346-017-0822-y Received: 19 July 2016 Accepted: 22 March 2017 Shallow landslides as drivers for slope ecosystem © The Author(s) 2017 evolution and biophysical diversity This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract Shallow landslides may be seen as local disturbances that Shallow landslides increase the openness (Odum 1969) of the foster the evolution of slope landscapes as part of their self- landscape by displacing the topsoil and established vegetation regulating capacity. Gaining insight into how slope ecosystems func- downwards on the slope at the time of failure (Walker et al. tion and evolve could make eco-engineering interventions on slopes 1996). This is evident in the bare scars and patches produced after more successful. The objective of the present study is to detect traits landslides. These landscape gaps present unique ecological fea- of shallow landslide-triggered ecosystem evolution, self-regulation tures (e.g. areas with low levels of light competition between plant and biophysical diversity in a small-scale landslide-prone slope in individuals; Walker et al. 1996; Myster and Walker 1997) for colo- Northeast Scotland. A protocol was defined to explore the emergence nisation by plants present within the surrounding landscape of landslide-driven slope habitats. This protocol studied plant diver- (Velázquez and Gómez-Sal 2008). Thus, a given slope will tend to sity, species richness and plant biomass differences and their inter- self-organise after a landslide (Walker et al. 1996) and the most actions with certain soil and topographic attributes at three slope visible evidence of this can be found in a slope’s re-colonisation by strata during two consecutive growing seasons following an assem- vegetation (Velázquez and Gómez-Sal 2008) and its subsequent blage of shallow landslide events. Plant species and soil properties succession (Myster and Walker 1997; Walker et al. 2010). These with potential as indicators of the different landslide-driven slope processes tend to be mimicked in human-driven slope restoration habitats and landscape evolution were also considered. Shallow actions (e.g. Norris et al. 2008), but the process of slope self- landslides contributed to biophysical diversity and created distinct regulation after failure and ecological factors leading to successful slope habitats within the landscape. Habitat differences in terms of slope restoration (other than soil-root reinforcement; e.g. Stokes species richness and composition were a direct consequence of the et al. 2008) need further exploration (Restrepo et al. 2009). slope self-regulation. Certain plant species were found to be valid Moreover, there is a need to establish simple and effective proto- indicators of landslide-driven biophysical diversity. Soil total nitro- cols capable of capturing the biophysical diversity and self- gen and resistance to penetration were related to slope habitat and organisation triggered by landslides while providing interpretable landscape evolution. As expected, plant establishment relied upon and useful information for slope restoration. light and nitrogen trade-offs, which in turn were influenced by Post-landslide self-organisation processes depend on the emer- landscape topography. The insights derived from this study will be gent biophysical heterogeneity within slope ecosystems (Velázquez useful in slope restoration, particularly in harmonising effective and Gómez-Sal 2007). Knowledge about landslide-derived bio- actions with the functioning of landslide-prone ecosystems. physical diversity may improve the success of slope restoration Further research directions to clarify the observed variability and actions using vegetation (Walker et al. 2009). For example, insight interactions are highlighted. related to the post-disturbance emergence of distinct slope zones, or habitats (Velázquez and Gómez-Sal 2008; Neto et al. 2017), and Keywords Shallow landslide . Ecosystem . Self- the associated colonising plants may aid in the choice of different organisation . Plant diversity . Biophysical diversity . Slope restoration strategies within the same slope. Insight related to the restoration environmental factors governing post-slide plant diversity, succes- sion and establishment may provide useful information to land- Introduction slide engineers and restoration ecologists in order to achieve the Landslides are normally seen as catastrophic geomorphological goals of slope restoration actions (e.g. diverse plant cover, dense processes that lead to dramatic losses of soil, human property plant cover, etc.) or to monitor the subsequent slope evolution. and life globally. However, from an ecological perspective, they However, plant interactions with the post-landslide abiotic slope are natural disturbance episodes of varying frequency and inten- features must be clarified to enhance the slope restoration success. sity that contribute to the natural evolution of sloped ecosystems These interactions are not yet entirely understood (Rajaniemi et al. (Walker and Shield 2013). The ecology of landslides has been 2003; Restrepo et al. 2009), and tools to adequately detect and relatively well studied (see Walker and Shield 2013 for review), interpret them are needed. but it is still an emergent discipline. During a landslide, nutrient- Plant-environment relationships can be complex. For example, rich soil materials usually move downwards due to the action of plants need to compensate for dramatic differences in resource gravity (Guariguata 1990; Walker et al. 1996). This leads to the (i.e. energy, water and nutrients) availability across the environ- differentiation of clear slope zones on the basis of the accumula- ment in order to thrive (Chapin et al. 1987; Herbert et al. 2004). In tion of soil materials (Velázquez and Gómez-Sal 2008; Elias and particular, trade-offs between light and nitrogen seem to be the Dias 2009; Walker et al. 2009; Neto et al. 2017). Additionally, the key controls in the establishment of plant communities after biophysical diversity of the landslide-prone landscape increases disturbance (Walters and Reich 1997; Myster and Walker 1997; (Geertsema and Pojar 2007) due to marked changes that can occur Soto et al. 2017). Nitrogen-rich soils tend to foster the production in soil properties and vegetation cover (Shiels et al. 2008; Elias and of plant aboveground biomass (Urbano 1995). This may enhance Dias 2009) and the emergence of novel topographical shapes the ability of vegetation to intercept light (Wilson and Tilman 1995; (Cendrero and Dramis 1996). Walters and Reich 1997), but it also may promote plant Landslides Original Paper competition for aboveground resources such as light (Rajaniemi response to the levels of another factor, (3) they are more inter- et al. 2003; Herbert et al. 2004), leading to shifts in the composition pretable than the commonly used ordination techniques, and (4) and diversity of plant communities (e.g. Wilson and Tilman 1995). they are able to depict the hierarchical structure by which ecosys- Light and nitrogen availability may be governed by landslide tems are built (Jørgensen 2007). dynamics, but also by the landscape topography (e.g. Franklin The goal of this study is to detect early traits of landslide- 1995; Hood et al. 2003;Wangetal.2015). For instance, slope triggered ecosystem evolution, self-regulation and biophysical di- orientation (i.e. aspect or azimuth) will determine the amount of versity in a small-scale landslide-prone coastal slope in Northeast incoming energy (e.g. Gallardo-Cruz et al. 2009), which in turn will Scotland. To achieve this, a novel protocol was defined for explor- affect photosynthesis, evapotranspiration, soil temperature and ing the emergence of landslide-driven slope habitats. Plant diver- soil moisture content—all crucial variables for plant development. sity, species richness and plant biomass differences together with Slope surface curvature affects plant performance (e.g. Moeslund their interactions with certain soil and topographic attributes at et al. 2013) by its influence on subsurface water flow, litter accu- three different slope strata are studied during two consecutive mulation and soil erosion/deposition rates which, in turn, are