Mobilization and transport of coarse woody debris to the oceans triggered by an extreme tropical storm

A significant consequence of Typhoon Morakot in August 2009 was the production of vast volumes of driftwood in Pacific Asia. We have quantified the flux of this coarse woody debris (CWD) to the oceans from typhoontriggered landslides in Taiwan, where Morakot made landfall, by combining remote sensing (using FORMOSAT-2 imagery and aerial photography), analysis of forest biomass, and field observations. A total of 3.8–8.4 TgCWD was transported to the oceans, carrying 1.8–4.0 Tg of organic carbon. In addition to the local effects on the marine and coastal environment from such a highly concentrated flux of carbon and nutrients, storm-driven mobilization of CWD may represent a significant, if infrequent, transfer of terrestrial biomass to the oceans. If the frequency of relatively rare, extreme storms such as Morakot increases in a changing climate, this transport mechanism may play an important role in feedbacks between global climate, storm intensity, and carbon cycling.

[1]  Robert G. Hilton,et al.  Tropical-cyclone-driven erosion of the terrestrial biosphere from mountains , 2008 .

[2]  P. J. Mulholland,et al.  Large-Scale Patterns in Dissolved Organic Carbon Concentration, Flux, and Sources , 2003 .

[3]  Robert B. Haehnel,et al.  Maximum Impact Force of Woody Debris on Floodplain Structures , 2004 .

[4]  M. Harmon,et al.  Ecology of Coarse Woody Debris in Temperate Ecosystems , 1986 .

[5]  Montana Chapter,et al.  THE AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY. , 1885, Science.

[6]  Scott J. Goetz,et al.  New Satellites Help Quantify Carbon Sources and Sinks , 2008 .

[7]  R. Benner,et al.  What happens to terrestrial organic matter in the ocean , 1997 .

[8]  Alexander L. Densmore,et al.  Topographic fingerprints of bedrock landslides , 2000 .

[9]  F. Nakamura,et al.  Factors controlling the fluvial export of large woody debris, and its contribution to organic carbon budgets at watershed scales , 2008 .

[10]  David B Baker,et al.  Impacts of tropical cyclones on U.S. forest tree mortality and carbon flux from 1851 to 2000 , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[11]  Lieven Claessens,et al.  Landsliding and Its Multiscale Influence on Mountainscapes , 2009 .

[12]  T. Cuffney,et al.  Long-Term Dynamics of Coarse Particulate Organic Matter in Three Appalachian Mountain Streams , 1995, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[13]  Gordon E. Grant,et al.  When do logs move in rivers? , 2000 .

[14]  R. Naiman,et al.  Post‐flooding distribution and characteristics of large woody debris piles along the semi‐arid Sabie River, South Africa , 2005 .

[15]  M. Crozier,et al.  Distribution of landslips in the Wairarapa hill country , 1980 .

[16]  B. Spänhoff,et al.  Breakdown rates of wood in streams , 2004, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[17]  G. Lamberti,et al.  Coarse particulate organic matter transport in low-gradient streams of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan , 2008, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[18]  F. Swanson,et al.  Distribution of coarse woody debris in a mountain stream, western Cascade Range, Oregon' , 1994 .

[19]  D. Burdige,et al.  Burial of terrestrial organic matter in marine sediments: A re‐assessment , 2005 .

[20]  E. Wohl,et al.  Episodic wood loading in a mountainous neotropical watershed. , 2009 .

[21]  A. Gurnell,et al.  The ecology and management of wood in world rivers : International Conference on Wood in World Rivers, held at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, 23-27 October 2000 , 2003 .

[22]  M. Meybeck.  Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus transport by world rivers , 1982 .

[23]  Mark S. Johnson,et al.  Organic carbon fluxes within and streamwater exports from headwater catchments in the southern Amazon , 2006 .

[24]  David A. Coomes,et al.  Global wood density database , 2009 .

[25]  Tim Li,et al.  What causes the extremely heavy rainfall in Taiwan during Typhoon Morakot (2009)? , 2010 .

[26]  J. Magnuson,et al.  Ecological Significance of a Drifting Object to Pelagic Fishes , 1967 .

[27]  Chjeng-Lun Shieh,et al.  Impact of Chi-Chi earthquake on the occurrence of landslides and debris flows: example from the Chenyulan River watershed, Nantou, Taiwan , 2004 .

[28]  T. Mortensen.  ON THE VEGETARIAN DIET OF SOME DEEP-SEA ECHINOIDS , 1938 .

[29]  R. Sinsabaugh,et al.  Aquatic ecosystems: interactivity of dissolved organic matter , 2004, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[30]  Kyoichi Otsuki,et al.  Transport and retention of coarse woody debris in mountain streams: An in situ field experiment of log transport and a field survey of coarse woody debris distribution , 2002 .

[31]  Brian D. Collins,et al.  Geomorphic effects of wood in rivers , 2003 .

[32]  Vincent R. Gray.  Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis Summary for Policymakers , 2007 .

[33]  M. Zbinden,et al.  Wood-based diet and gut microflora of a galatheid crab associated with Pacific deep-sea wood falls , 2009 .

[34]  Angela M. Gurnell,et al.  The ecology and management of wood in world rivers 2003 , 2003 .

[35]  J. Sedell,et al.  From the Forest to the Sea: The Ecology of Wood in Streams, Rivers, Estuaries and Oceans , 1994 .

[36]  W. M. Ewing,et al.  Congo Submarine Canyon , 1964 .

[37]  R. Schneider,et al.  Transport of terrestrial organic carbon to the oceans by rivers: re-estimating flux- and burial rates , 2000 .

[38]  Robert J. Naiman,et al.  Longitudinal patterns of ecosystem processes and community structure in a subarctic river continuum , 1987 .

[39]  J. Warrick,et al.  The role of effective discharge in the ocean delivery of particulate organic carbon by small, mountainous river systems , 2010 .

[40]  Patricia A. Flebbe.  Trout use of woody debris and habitat in Wine Spring Creek, North Carolina , 1999 .

[41]  George C. Hurtt,et al.  Hurricane Katrina's Carbon Footprint on U.S. Gulf Coast Forests , 2007, Science.

[42]  R. Benner,et al.  What happens to terrestrial organic matter in the ocean , 2004 .

[43]  W. Cohen,et al.  Lidar remote sensing of above‐ground biomass in three biomes , 2002 .

[44]  N. Hovius,et al.  Riverine particulate organic carbon from an active mountain belt: Importance of landslides , 2008 .