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Part III - Forest disturbance, conversion and recovery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 January 2010

Mike Bonell
Affiliation:
Chief of the Hydrological Processes and Climate Section, The UNESCO Division of Water Sciences
L. A. Bruijnzeel
Affiliation:
Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor of Eco-Hydrology, The Department of Hydrology and Geo-Environmental Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
M. Bonell
Affiliation:
UNESCO, Paris
L. A. Bruijnzeel
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
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Summary

SUMMARY

This part contains eight chapters, the first three of which deal with the soil and water impacts of various kinds of forest disturbances, in order of increasing intensity. These are then followed by two chapters discussing the impacts of forest clearing and burning for the establishment of other land uses (pasture, cropping, plantations) at the small catchment, and river basin scale, respectively. The final three chapters focus on the changes in hydrology and soil nutrient reserves associated with forest regeneration, tree planting and the mixed crop-tree systems collectively known as agroforestry.

It is commonly overlooked that humid tropical forests are subject to a range of natural disturbances, including treefalls, landslides, hurricanes, floods, droughts, fires, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and, in coastal areas, tsunamis. With the exception of treefalls and landslides, all of these have a significant impact on hydrological functioning and nutrient cycling at the catchment scale, with the geomorphology of an area often affected too. Scatena, Planos-Gutierrez and Schellekens provide an overview of the hydrological impacts of the principal natural disturbances occurring in humid tropical forest, emphasising that most forests experience disturbance-generating rainfalls at least once every decade. Rainfalls of c.200 mm day-;1 may cause treefall gaps, landslides (especially in steep, tectonically-active areas) and localised flooding. Events in the order of 400–500 mm of rain day-;1 (commonly associated with hurricanes) can cause widespread landscape modification, mainly through landsliding.

Type
Chapter
Information
Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics
Past, Present and Future Hydrological Research for Integrated Land and Water Management
, pp. 485 - 488
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

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  • Forest disturbance, conversion and recovery
    • By Mike Bonell, Chief of the Hydrological Processes and Climate Section, The UNESCO Division of Water Sciences, L. A. Bruijnzeel, Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor of Eco-Hydrology, The Department of Hydrology and Geo-Environmental Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
  • Edited by M. Bonell, L. A. Bruijnzeel, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
  • Book: Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics
  • Online publication: 12 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511535666.025
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  • Forest disturbance, conversion and recovery
    • By Mike Bonell, Chief of the Hydrological Processes and Climate Section, The UNESCO Division of Water Sciences, L. A. Bruijnzeel, Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor of Eco-Hydrology, The Department of Hydrology and Geo-Environmental Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
  • Edited by M. Bonell, L. A. Bruijnzeel, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
  • Book: Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics
  • Online publication: 12 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511535666.025
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Forest disturbance, conversion and recovery
    • By Mike Bonell, Chief of the Hydrological Processes and Climate Section, The UNESCO Division of Water Sciences, L. A. Bruijnzeel, Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor of Eco-Hydrology, The Department of Hydrology and Geo-Environmental Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
  • Edited by M. Bonell, L. A. Bruijnzeel, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
  • Book: Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics
  • Online publication: 12 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511535666.025
Available formats
×