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Buttresses of tropical rainforest trees influence hillslope processes
Author(s) -
Herwitz Stanley R.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
earth surface processes and landforms
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.294
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1096-9837
pISSN - 0197-9337
DOI - 10.1002/esp.3290130610
Subject(s) - stemflow , windthrow , surface runoff , tropical rainforest , infiltration (hvac) , hydrology (agriculture) , buttress , environmental science , erosion , rainforest , geology , soil water , soil science , geomorphology , forestry , ecology , geotechnical engineering , geography , throughfall , biology , archaeology , meteorology
During heavy rainfall events, the buttresses of tropical rainforest trees limit the occurrence of stemflow‐generated overland flow and soil erosion on hillslopes. Buttresses promote infiltration by causing stemflow to diverge into separate flow paths on the trunk and by increasing the stemflow contact area at the ground surface. Buttresses oriented normal to hillslopes function as barriers that further promote infiltration and limit the downslope transport of sediments and chemically‐enriched stemflow water. These relationships between buttressing, stemflow, and hillslope processes have not been previously noted in the literature. Buttresses are generally regarded as mechanically efficient support structures that increase the resistance of trees to windthrow and uprooting; however, this also has an inhibiting effect on hillslope processes because the mounds of bare soil uprooted by tree falls are particularly vulnerable to rainsplash erosion.