Landslides in forest
| Title | Info |
|---|---|
| Source | Dan L. Perlman |
| Ecosystems | Forests |
| Forests | Tropical rainforest |
| Change over time | Disturbance |
| Disturbance | Landslides |
| Lessons | Disturbance |
| Date | 1990 |
| Location | Monteverde,Puntarenas,Costa Rica,North America |
Landslides in intact forest, Monteverde, Costa Rica. A couple of years before this photograph was taken, this region received about 10 in (25 cm) of rain in 24 hours from Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. The ground became so waterlogged that hundreds of landslides occurred on hills throughout the region, even on land that was still covered with healthy forest, as in this image. Such disturbances open up new habitat for light-requiring plants that can then colonize the newly created gaps. The seeds of these early successional plants may be dispersed into the new habitat by wind or with the help of animal dispersers, or the seeds may be lying in the soil, waiting for an opening in the canopy so that they can grow.
