Changes in Vegetation and Soil During Succession Following Landslide Disturbance in the Central Himalaya

Vegetation Succession and Rate of Topsoil Development on Shallow Landslide Scars of Sedimentary Rock Slope Covered by Volcanic Ash and Pumice, Southern Kyushu, Japan

“…4c) showed a trend different from that of the number of individuals and the number of species; it increased proportionately to the age of scar. The increase in the total basal areas of woody plant, total stem volume, and the amount of vegetation biomass with the age of a shallow landslide scar was also reported in the investigations of Reddy and Singh (1993) and Matsumoto et al (1999aMatsumoto et al ( , 1999b.…”

“…As a consequence, sediment runoff is accelerated by surface erosion, and the environment for vegetation growth highly deteriorates owing to water and nutrient deficiency in the soil (Shimokawa 1984;Shimokawa et al 1989;Reddy and Singh 1993;Smale et al 1997;Matsumoto et al 1999aMatsumoto et al , 1999b. However, the deteriorated condition of landslide affected areas gradually recovers with time as vegetation and topsoil develop (Shimokawa 1984;Trustrum and De Rose 1988;Shimokawa et al 1989;Reddy and Singh 1993;Smale et al 1997;Matsumoto et al 1999aMatsumoto et al , 1999b. Previous reported that the vegetation succession is deeply correlated with the development of topsoil in a shallow landslide scar (Shimokawa 1984;Shimokawa et al 1989;Matsumoto et al 1999aMatsumoto et al , 1999b.…”

“…Previous reported that the vegetation succession is deeply correlated with the development of topsoil in a shallow landslide scar (Shimokawa 1984;Shimokawa et al 1989;Matsumoto et al 1999aMatsumoto et al , 1999b. Numerous studies have been performed to investigate the vegetation succession and the development of topsoil in shallow landslide scars: the pioneer tree species and the evolution of colonies on slopes covered by pyroclastic flow deposits and sedimentary rocks (Murai 1958;Murai 1960), the relationship among tree species composition, mode of distribution, degree of succession, and the rate of topsoil development on slopes covered by pyroclastic flow deposits and granite rocks (Shimokawa 1984;Shimokawa et al 1989;Matsumoto et al 1999aMatsumoto et al , 1999b, the composition of invasive vegetation and the rate of topsoil development on slopes covered by sedimentary rocks (Trustrum and De Rose 1988;Smale et al 1997), the characteristics of soil layers and the effects of tree species composition on the vegetation succession after a shallow landslide scar and the characteristics of soil on a slope covered by volcanic products (Reddy and Singh 1993), and lastly, the relationship between the mode of vegetation distribution and surface disturbance in sedimentary rock slopes (Sakai and Osawa 1993). However, the progress of vegetation succession and topsoil development rate in shallow landslide scars differs depending on the differences in conditions (e.g., geology and climate).…”

Post-disturbance erosion impacts carbon fluxes and plant succession on recent tropical landslides

“…We have too little data to extrapolate further, but landslide soils might reach pre-disturbance levels (hypothetical in many highly disturbed landscapes; Walker and del Moral 2003) after 250 year (constant rate of accrual) to 500 year (declining rate; Zarin and Johnson 1995b). Of course, successional dynamics can be much slower, with little or no colonization on some landslides even after 20 year (Dalling 1995) or faster (with full recovery of both C and N within 40 year) as seen on Himalayan landslides (Pandey and Singh 1985;Reddy and Singh 1993).…”

Landscape-Scale Geomorphic Influences on Vegetation Patterns in Four Environments

“…Contrasts in plant species composition and physical charac teristics are often apparent between landslide scars and the surrounding vegeta tion (e.g., Mark et al, 1989;Veblen and Ashton, 1978;Miles et al, 1984;Simon et al, 1990;Reddy and Singh, 1993), although considerable spatial variation in plant cover and physical variables also is evident within landslide scars. In the White Mountains of the northeastern United States, Flaccus (1959) reported lower organic matter content and available calcium, magnesium, and potassium in soils on landslide scars than in the adjacent forest.…”