Modelling the links between vegetation and landforms

Abstract

Vegetation is the most important intermediate through which climate and land use modify geomorphological processes and landforms. In this paper we explore three types of model which attempt to simulate the links to uncultivated vegetation, all sharing a common basis in hydrology. The first simulates the relationship between climate, vegetation and erosion rates for a fixed topography and soil cover. The second group of models takes into account longer term interactions with soil properties, which are thought to be important on the times scales of current concern with global change. An expanded illustration of this interaction is the relationship between wash erosion processes, vegetation cover and the evolution of microtopography. The third group of models looks at geological time spans, for which consistent differences in vegetation and landform between climatic areas create responses in the pattern of erosion rates, jointly to a combination of past and present climates.