Landsliding is a spatially and temporarily variable process with potentially large effects on regional C budgets. This variability may have important consequences for estimating C pools and fluxes given the contribution of landsliding to the removal of organic C contained in vegetation and soil from the hillslopes, its deposition along the hillslope-fluvial interface, and its subsequent regeneration on landslides undergoing succession. This project will develop a landscape approach for quantifying C budgets associated with landsliding based on the integration of spatial (maps) and non-spatial (field measurements of C in vegetation, soil, and water) data into a GIS modeling framework for a model watershed in the Sierra de Las Minas, Guatemala. Whereas the model will generate subwatershed- and watershed-scale estimates of carbon pools and fluxes, the field data will permit a comparison between the C isotopic composition of soils, landslide deposits, and water and therefore provide a better understanding of C transfer to the fluvial system.
The development of a landscape approach to examine watershed and subwatershed-scale C pools and fluxes associated with landsliding is a first step towards understanding the regional impact of landslide populations on C budgets, and ultimately its influence on global climate. Furthermore, this proposal will shed light into the factors that underlie slope instability in a tropical mountain range, including recovery processes. Finally, this project will generate basic data that will help guide conservation and management strategies for the Sierra de Las Minas Biosphere Reserve of Guatemela, a hotspot of diversity that is highly vulnerable to landsliding.
