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3 - Hillslope Processes

from Part II - Connectivity in Process Domains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2025

By
Anthony J. Parsons
Edited by
Ronald Pöppl ,
Anthony Parsons  and
Saskia Keesstra
Ronald Pöppl
Affiliation:
BOKU University Vienna
Anthony Parsons
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield
Saskia Keesstra
Affiliation:
Wageningen Universiteit, The Netherlands
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Summary

Hillslopes may be regarded as conveyor belts transferring water and sediment and nutrients to other parts of the geomorphic system. This chapter examines the mechanisms of, and the factors controlling, how far and how fast water, sediment and nutrients move along this conveyor belt, discussing water movement in and on hillslopes, fluid-gravity and sediment-gravity movement of sediment and nutrient movement. Hillslope processes do not operate in isolation, and the interaction, of connectivity among processes is also important. This interaction is particularly significant when assessing the importance of connectivity to understanding hillslopes within the context of landscape evolution. A full description of the connectivity of hillslope processes will require combined knowledge of both the magnitude–connectivity relationship, the probability distribution of event magnitudes and, to explain specific cases of functional connectivity, the actual sequence of events. In recent years there has been a growing recognition of the importance of connectivity in understanding the effects of hillslope processes. At best, however, that understanding remains patchy and incomplete.

Keywords

hillslope processesconnectivitylandscape evolution
Type
Chapter
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Connectivity in Geomorphology , pp. 29 - 47
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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