How Lithology Impacts Global Topography, Vegetation, and Animal Biodiversity: A Global‐Scale Analysis of Mountainous Regions

Abstract

Chemical and mechanical properties of lithology exert a first-order control on landscape evolution and biological colonization of substrate. To quantify the influence of lithology on topography, vegetation density, and animal biodiversity, I compile lithologic, topographic, climatic, and biological data sets for mountainous regions globally. I find significant variations in the topographic steepness of regions underlain by different lithologies that, accounting for tectonic uplift, likely reflect lithologic differences in erosional resistance. These relative differences in erodibility are similar across different climate zones. To isolate the effect of lithology on vegetation and animal biodiversity, I account for the heterogeneous lithologic distribution among climate zones. I show that siliciclastic, plutonic, and, for some biological variables, metamorphic rocks exhibit elevated values of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and tetrapod and amphibian species richness relative to carbonate rocks. These results likely reflect lithology-related variation in soil nutrients and hydrology that promote or inhibit habitat suitability. Plain Language Summary A myriad of rock types are exposed at Earth's surface, all of which have different chemical and physical properties. These differences are important because rock properties affect processes on Earth's surface that shape topography and because rocks are the base material from which most soils form. Here, I investigate how the steepness of a landscape varies based on differences in rock type and show that rock type variations can partly explain Earth's topography. I also test whether the differences in rock type that lead to variations in soil properties and water availability influence plant cover and animal richness globally. I find that limestone areas have less vegetation and lower numbers of amphibian, bird, and mammalian species. This is likely related to low water availability and nutrient content in limestone areas.

Controls on Physical and Chemical Denudation in a Mixed Carbonate‐Siliciclastic Orogen

“…Even in places where carbonate constitutes a minor component of the bedrock, carbonate weathering is frequently the dominant source of cations (Calmels et al., 2007; Hilton & West, 2020; Jacobson & Blum, 2003; Sarin et al., 1989; Torres et al., 2016). Importantly, carbonate and silicate weathering produce different nutrients and soils (Ott, 2020) and differ in their impact on the carbon cycle. Whereas silicate weathering is a carbon sink on timescales longer than the calcium‐compensation time in the ocean, carbonate weathering is either carbon‐neutral, or it is a carbon source where dissolution occurs via sulfuric acid (Calmels et al., 2007).…”

Data-Driven Landslide Nowcasting at the Global Scale

“…This approach also avoids the use of landslide data as a means of determining the relative strength of lithologic units, which would pose problems related to the small number of landslides recorded in some lithologic units, confounding variables, and the independence of the validation data. A recent global analysis of erodibility used similar methods and data to produce a series of lithologic ratings that resemble but are not identical to that in Table 3 (Ott, 2020).…”

Empirical study of the coupling relationship between biodiversity and environmental geology under different ecological status: Evidence from five typical areas in Guizhou, China

“…The Maolan research area is largely covered by primary karst forests, including three typical topographies (i.e., trough valley, funnel, and sloping land)(Lang and Long 2012). Although the Maolan research area is rich in ecological niches, the vegetation coverage is lower than in the Fanjingshan and Chishui research areas(Ott 2020); hence, the comprehensive index of biodiversity is also lower than those of these two research areas.The comprehensive index values of environmental geology have the following order: Weining (0.47) < Maolan (0.48) < Guanshanhu (0.60) < Chishui (0.67) < Fanjingshan (0.79). The Weining and Guanshanhu research areas are both located in urban construction areas, where human activities have greatly influenced the environmental geology.…”

“…Several scholars have studied the relationship between geology and biodiversity from the perspective of mountain structure-for example, how environmental and biological processes have shaped mountainous biodiversity (Huang et al 2019, Antonelli et al 2018. A number of scholars also have studied the influence of a single factor on biodiversity-for example, how temperature, rainfall, and soil affect biodiversity (Ott 2020). Other scholars have studied the influence of the pedogenic rock-soil-water system on biodiversity (by emphasizing plant growth) from the perspective of the geochemical background (Jiang et al 2020).…”