Developing a more complete understanding of tropical montane forest disturbance ecology through landslide research

Abstract

Landslides are a central component of tropical montane forest disturbance regimes, including in the tropical Andes biodiversity hotspot, one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. Technological developments in remote sensing have made landscape-scale landslide studies possible, unlocking new avenues for understanding montane biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and the future effects of climate change. Here, we outline three axes of inquiry for future landslide ecology research in Andean tropical montane forest. We focus exclusively on the Andes due to the vast floral diversity and high endemicity of the tropical Andes biodiversity hotspot, and its importance for global biodiversity and regional ecosystem service provisioning; the broad elevational, latitudinal, and topographic gradients across which landslide dynamics play out; and the existence of long-term plot networks that provide the necessary baseline data on mature forest structure, composition, and functioning to contextualize disturbance impacts. The three lines of study we outline, which draw heavily on remote sensing data and techniques, will deepen scientific understanding of tropical montane forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and the potential impacts of climate change on both. They are: (1) tracking landslide biodiversity dynamics across time and space with high spatial and temporal resolution satellite and unoccupied aerial vehicle imagery; (2) assessing the ecological influence of landslides through the lens of plant functional diversity with imaging spectroscopy; and (3) understanding current and predicting future landslide regimes at scale by building a living landslide inventory spanning the tropical Andes. The research findings from these three axes of inquiry will shed light on the role of landslides and the process of forest recovery from them in both the Andes and worldwide.