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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Landslides have a direct impact in the ecosystems dynamics being considered one of the
main vegetation perturbation processes. Our objective is to determine the relation between
vegetation cover evolution and time period after landslide disturbance, and therefore to
assess the potential use of vegetation evolution within landslide areas as temporal bioindicators
of landslide activity, in order to determine landslide relative age. Four rotational
slides of known relative age, located in the Grande da Pipa River basin (Arruda dos Vinhos,
Portugal) were selected. The methodology includes four main steps: (1) to identify the
flora and vegetation differences between the main landslide sectors (scarp, body, foot); (2)
to find out if the differences in floristic composition and vegetation structure are reflected
in the succession process; (3) to find out if the succession process has produced different
seral stages along the longitudinal gradients; (4) to compare the succession process
in landslide affected areas with the undisturbed adjacent areas. The data points towards a
slow evolution of the vegetation in the period following the disturbance, being necessary
long periods for the perturbed area reach vegetation characteristics similar to the ones of
the unperturbed areas. The progressive succession is rapid in the foot, slow in the body and
extremely slow in the scarp. The presence of orchids in the body may be considered as an
age bioindicator of more than 15 years since landslide disturbance. In the case of the older
landslide (> 50 years), it corresponds to the evolved stage close to the potential natural
vegetation.
Description
Keywords
Landslides Disturbed areas Vegetation succession Relative age bioindicator Phytodiversity hotspots Mediterranean region
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Lopes, L. F., Oliveira, S. C., Neto, C., & Zêzere, J. L. (2020). Vegetation evolution by ecological succession as a potential bioindicator of landslides relative age in Southwestern Mediterranean region. Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 103, 599–622. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-020-04002-y
Publisher
Springer