comment
The accumulation zone of slopes
Young, Anthony
Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie Volume 13 Issue 2 (1969), p. 231 - 233
2 references
published: Jul 2, 1969
ArtNo. ESP022001302007, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
In a recent study of soil / slope relationships Furley concludes that the slopes studied may be diveded into an erosion zone and an accumulation zone, separated by a junction. I consider that this conclusion does not follow from the evidence presented. I suggest further that the hypothesis that concavities on slopes are areas of accumulation leads to a paradox. Furley explicitly assumes that certain soil parameters (topsoil pH, organic C, and N) vary with soil maturity; if it can be demonstrated that these parameters vary with gradient (i. e. slope angle), it follows that soil maturity varies with gradient. His finding is that significant gradient / soil parameter correlations exist for the upper parts of the slopes studied, but not for the lower parts; the change in such relationships occurs at approximately the upper boundary of the concavity. He concludes from this that on the upper parts of these slopes, soil maturity does indeed vary inversely with gradient; but, since there is no such relation on the lower slopes, the latter cannot be undergoing erosion and must therefore be accumulation zones.
Keywords
soil • slope • accumulation zone • erosion zone • soil maturity