Abstract
Tropical landslides are suitable locations to study short-term carbon (C) fluxes because of the rapid changes that occur for the first few years following initial disruption of the slope. Because of the high heterogeneity among landslide soils and plant re-colonization patterns, we measured C fluxes from 30 landslides in the Luquillo Experimental Forest in northeastern Puerto Rico from 8–13 months after landslide formation. Post-landslide erosion resulted in significantly higher soil output on dioritic than on volcaniclastic soils, with no temporal decline in soil output during the study. Much more C was found in landslide soils than in plant biomass, and we estimate that 6–24% of the soil C standing stock would erode from our plots within 1 year. Even the relatively small amount of C in plant matter was in flux, with four to five times plant C standing stock deposited into the plots as plant litter and two times standing stock leaving our plots in 1 year. This rapid turnover of C is indicative of highly unstable substrates that likely stabilize over successional time. We combined our short-term study with past chronosequence studies to project long-term carbon movement in landslides. We suggest that landslides in Puerto Rico represent a net down slope movement of C despite deposition from surrounding forest soils, litter from the surrounding landscape and in situ successional re-growth.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams PW, Sidle RC (1987) Soil conditions in three recent landslides in southeast Alaska. For Ecol Manag 18:93–102
Alpkem (1992) The flow solution operation manual. Alpkem Corporation, Wilsonville, Oregon
Bonnard C, Forlati F, Scavia C (eds) (2004) Identification and mitigation of large landslide risks in Europe: advances in risk assessment. A.A. Balkema, London, p 317
Brown S, Lugo AE, Silander S, Liegel L (1983) Research history and opportunities in the Luquillo Experimental Forest. United States Forest Service General Technical Report. SO-44. Washington, DC
Burghouts TBA, Van Straalen NM, Bruijnzeel LA (1998) Spatial heterogeneity of element and litter turnover in a Bornean rain forest. J Trop Ecol 14:477–506
Cammeraat E, van Beek R, Kooijman A (2007) Vegetation succession and its consequences for slope stability in SE Spain. In: Stokes A, Spanos I, Norris JE, Cammeraat E (eds) Eco- and ground bio-engineering: the use of vegetation to improve slope stability. Proceedings of the First International Conference on Eco-Engineering, 13–17 September 2004. Thessaloniki, Greece. Springer, Berlin, pp 273–285
Chacón J, Irigaray C, Fernández T (eds) (1996) Landslides. Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference and Field Trip on Landslides, Granada, Spain, 27–28 September 1996. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, p 390
Chancy K, Swift RS (1984) The influence of organic matter on aggregate stability in some British soils. J Soil Sci 35:223–230
Comrey A (1992) A first course in factor analysis, 2nd edn. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, New Jersey, USA, p 430
Crozier MJ (1986) Landslides: causes, consequences and environment. Croom Helm, London, p 252
Cruden DM, Varnes DJ (1996) Landslide types and processes. In: Turner AK, Schuster RL (eds) Landslides: investigation and mitigation. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, pp 36–71
Dai FC, Lee CF (2002) Landslide characteristics and slope instability modeling using GIS, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Geomorphology 42:213–228
Dalling JW (1995) Vegetation colonization of landslides in the Blue Mountains, Jamaica. Biotropica 26:392–399
Espizua L, Bengochea J (2002) Landslide hazard and risk zonation mapping in the Rio Grande Basin, Central Andes of Mendoza, Argentina. Mt Res Dev 22:177–185
Ewel JJ, Whitmore JL (1973) The ecological life zones of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. United States Forest Service Research Paper. ITF-18. Institute of Tropical Forestry, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Geertsema M, Pojar JJ (2007) Influence of landslides on biophysical diversity—a perspective from British Columbia. Geomorphology 89:55–69
Gellis AC, Webb RMT, Wolfe WJ, McIntyre SCI (1999) Effects of land use on upland erosion, sediment transport and reservoir sedimentation, Lago Loiza watershed, Puerto Rico. US Geological Survey Water Resources Investigation Report 99–4010, p 60
Gerlach T (1967) Hillslope troughs for measuring sediment movement. Revue de Geomorphologie Dynamique, Special edition to the International Hydrological Decade. 4, 173
Gifford RM (2000) Carbon content of above-ground tissues of forest and woodland trees. National Carbon Accounting System. Technical Report No. 22. CSIRO, Canberra, Australia
Guariguata MR (1990) Landslide disturbance and forest regeneration in the upper Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico. J Ecol 78:814–832
Larsen MC (2008) Rainfall-triggered landslides, anthropogenic hazards, and mitigation strategies. Adv Geosci 14:147–153
Larsen MC, Simon A (1993) A rainfall intensity–duration threshold for landslides in a humid-tropical environment, Puerto Rico. Geogr Anal 75A:13–23
Larsen MC, Torres-Sánchez AJ (1992) Landslides triggered by Hurricane Hugo in eastern Puerto Rico, September 1989. Caribb J Sci 28:113–120
Larsen MC, Torres-Sánchez AJ (1995) Geographic relations of landslide distribution and assessment of landslide hazards in the Blanco, Cibuco and Coamo basins, Puerto Rico. United States Geological Survey Report 95-4029. San Juan, Puerto Rico
Larsen MC, Torres-Sánchez AJ, Concepción IM (1999) Slopewash, surface runoff, and fine-litter transport in forest and landslide scars in humid-tropical steeplands, Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Earth Surf Process Landf 24:481–502
Lioger HA, Martorell LF (1982) Flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands: a systematic synopsis. Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, p 394
Lodge DJ, Asbury CE (1988) Basidiomycetes reduce export of organic matter from forest slopes. Mycologia 80:888–890
Lodge DJ, Scatena FN, Asbury CE, Sánchez MJ (1991) Fine litterfall and related nutrient inputs resulting from Hurricane Hugo in subtropical wet and lower montane rain forests of Puerto Rico. Biotropica 23:336–342
Lugo AE, Brown S (1993) Management of tropical soils as sinks or sources of atmospheric carbon. Plant Soil 149:27–41
McDonald MA, Healey JR, Stevens PA (2002) The effects of secondary forest clearance and subsequent land-use on erosion losses and soil properties in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. Agric Ecosyst Environ 92:1–19
Nicolau J-M (2002) Runoff generation and routing on artificial slopes in a Mediterranean-continental environment: the Teruel coalfield, Spain. Hydrol Process 16:631–647
Pandey AN, Singh JS (1985) Mechanism of ecosystem recovery: a case study from Kumaun Himalaya. Recreat Reveg Res 3:271–292
Pearce AJ, Watson AJ (1986) Effects of earthquake-induced landslides on sediment budget and transport over a 50-yr period. Geology 14:52–55
Pederson N, Everham E, Sahm JM (1992) Natural disturbance simulation for the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. In: McLeod J (ed) Toward understanding our environment. The Society for Computer Simulation, San Diego, California, pp 95–100
Reddy VS, Singh JS (1993) Changes in vegetation and soil during succession following landslide disturbance in the Central Himalaya. J Environ Manage 39:235–250
Restrepo C, Vitousek P (2001) Landslides, alien species, and the diversity of a Hawaiian montane mesic ecosystem. Biotropica 33:409–420
Sassa K, Fukuoka H, Wang F, Wang G (eds) (2007) Progress in landslide science. Springer, Berlin, p 378
Scatena FN, Lugo AE (1995) Geomorphology, disturbance and the soil and vegetation of two subtropical wet steepland watersheds in Puerto Rico. Geomorphology 13:199–213
Scatena FN, Moya S, Estrada C, Chinea JD (1996) The first five years in the reorganization of aboveground biomass and nutrient use following Hurricane Hugo I the Bisley Experimental Watersheds, Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Biotropica 28:424–440
Seiders VM (1971) Geologic map of the El Yunque quadrangle, Puerto Rico. United States Geologic Survey Map I-658. United States Government Printing Office, Washington, DC
Senneset K (ed) (1996) Landslides. Proceedings of the Seventh International Symposium on Landslides, 17–21 June 1996. Trondheim, Norway. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, pp 192
Sheldrick BH, Wang C (1993) Particle size distribution. In: Carter MR (ed) Soil sampling methods of analysis. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Florida, pp 507–509
Shiels AB (2006) Leaf litter decomposition and substrate chemistry of early successional species on landslides in Puerto Rico. Biotropica 38:348–353
Shiels AB, Walker LR (2003) Bird perches increase forest seeds on Puerto Rican landslides. Restor Ecol 11:457–465
Shiels AB, Walker LR, Thompson DB (2006) Organic matter inputs create variable resource patches on Puerto Rican landslides. Plant Ecol 184:223–236
Shiels AB, West CA, Weiss L, Klawinski PD, Walker LR (2008) Soil factors predict initial plant colonization on Puerto Rican landslides. Plant Ecol 195:165–178
Sidle RC, Ochiai H (2006) Landslides: processes, prediction, and land use. American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, California, p 312
Silver WL, Scatena FN, Johnson AH, Siccama TG, Sanchez MJ (1994) Nutrient availability in a montane wet tropical forest: spatial patterns and methodological considerations. Plant Soil 164:129–145
Smith RM, Abruña R (1955) Soil and water conservation research in Puerto Rico, 1938–1947. Univ P R Agric Experiment Stn Bull 124, p 51
SPSS (1998) SPSS 9.0 for Windows. SPSS, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Taylor CM (1994) Annotated checklist of the flowering plants of the El Verde Field Station, Puerto Rico. University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, p 123
Walker LR (1994) Effects of fern thickets on woodland development on landslides in Puerto Rico. J Veg Sci 5:525–532
Walker LR, del Moral R (2003) Primary succession and ecosystem rehabilitation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, p 442
Walker LR, Neris L (1993) Posthurricane seed rain dynamics in Puerto Rico. Biotropica 25:408–418
Walker LR, Zarin DJ, Fetcher N, Myster RW, Johnson AH (1996) Ecosystem development and plant succession on landslides in the Caribbean. Biotropica 28:566–576
Walker LR, Walker J Hobbs RJ (eds) (2007) Linking restoration and ecological succession. Springer, New York, p 190
Wilcke W, Valladarez H, Stoyan R, Yasin S, Valarezo C, Zech W (2003) Soil properties on a chronosequence of landslides in montane rain forest, Ecuador. Catena 53:79–95
Zarin DJ, Johnson AH (1995a) Base saturation, nutrient cation, and organic matter increases during early pedogenesis on landslide scars in the Luquillo Experimental Forest. Geoderma 65:317–330
Zarin DJ, Johnson AH (1995b) Nutrient accumulation during primary succession in a montane tropical forest, Puerto Rico. Soil Sci Soc Am J 59:1444–1452
Zinke PJ, Stangenberger AG, Post WM, Emanuel WR, Olson JS (1986) Worldwide organic soil carbon and nitrogen data, NDP-018, Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Available online at http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/home.html
Zou X, González G (1997) Changes in earthworm density and community structure during secondary succession in abandoned tropical pastures. Soil Biol Biochem 29:627–629
Acknowledgements
We thank Oscar Abelleira, Maria Aponte, Fred Landau, and especially Laura Weiss and Christine West for their pivotal roles in data collection. Lauren Kaminski and Bryan Necessary analyzed the soil and litter samples. Peter Bellingham, Matt Larsen, Carla Restrepo, Fred Scatena and Eduardo Velázquez provided helpful comments on an earlier draft. This research was funded by cooperative grants from the United States National Science Foundation (NSF), University of Puerto Rico, and the United States Forest Service, supporting the Luquillo Experimental Forest Long-Term Ecological Research Program (NSF grants: DEB-0218039, DEB-0620910).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Klaus Butterbach-Bahl.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Walker, L.R., Shiels, A.B. Post-disturbance erosion impacts carbon fluxes and plant succession on recent tropical landslides. Plant Soil 313, 205–216 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-008-9692-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-008-9692-3