Dendrogeomorphic Potential of the Himalaya – Case Studies of Process Dating of Natural Hazards in Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

Trees impacted by the forces of natural processes such as flash floods, snow avalanches, landslides, rockfalls or earthquakes, record these events and exhibit growth disturbances in their growth-ring series. As a consequence, these disturbances provide an excellent signal for the spatio-temporal reconstruction of past natural hazard activity and a means to date and document past disasters. In the context of the Indian Himalayas Climate Change Adaptation Programme (IHCAP; http://www.ihcap.in/), a field trip was carried out in May 2014 to define suitable sites for dendrogeomorphic research in Kullu valley, Himachal Pradesh. Several tree species and sites where recent and past process activity can be reconstructed were inventoried, namely flash floods in the Beas and Sainj rivers as well as snow avalanches in Solang valley. Through this exploratory analysis, we ascertain that tree-ring techniques have wide applicability in the analysis of natural hazards, not only in the Kullu region but also in other geographical contexts of the Himalayas.