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Exploratory radioisotope measurements suggest that in-stream erosion represents the main sediment source in a pristine, tropical rainforest in Costa Rica

  • Sediments, Sec 3 • Hillslope and River Basin Sediment Dynamics • Research Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Volcanic, humid tropical landscapes are characterized by short-term geomorphic transformations due to volcanism and seismic activity, landslides, and other frequent mass movements. These landscape-forming processes are amplified by high temperatures, high annual precipitation rates, and intense rainstorms. The latter can result in significant surface runoff and sediment mobilization, even under pristine rainforest cover. However, knowledge about sediment sources and the magnitude of the associated erosion and accumulation rates remains limited in these systems.

Methods

This study explores the use of radioisotopes (U-235, Bi-214, Pb-214, total Pb-210, and K-40) and of the fallout radionuclide (FRN) Cs-137 to address that knowledge gap in a pristine, tropical rainforest catchment in northern Costa Rica. We analyzed FRN and radioisotope activities from two reference soil profiles and compared them with those of 17 superficial soil samples collected on two hillslopes and of three streambed sediment samples.

Results

Modeled hillslope erosion and accumulation rates ranged from 6 t ha−1 year−1 erosion to 6.7 t ha−1 year−1 deposition with up to ± 60% uncertainty reflecting spatially variable interception of rainfall inputs. Preliminary sediment fingerprinting results suggested that deeper soil material, likely originating from in-stream bank erosion and channel incision, was the dominant source of stream sediment (79 ± 19%), whereas superficial soil present on the hillslopes only contributed 22 ± 18% to the stream mixture.

Conclusion

Our exploratory work highlights the potential importance of channel erosion processes in the sediment yield of steep rainforest catchments, even when hillslopes and streams have a strong hydrological connection.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the helpful staff at the RBAMB station for support during the extensive fieldwork campaign. CB would like to acknowledge UCR support for the projects B8709, ED-3319, UCREA-B8276, and the IAEA CRP: F31005. MC acknowledges support by the UCR project 915-B7-082. CD acknowledges support from Charles Darwin University and the Australian Research Council (DE220100852).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Water and Global Change Observatory (OACG), University of Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica

    Christian Birkel & Katherine Vargas Arias

  2. Northern Rivers Institute, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

    Christian Birkel

  3. Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin-Casuarina, Australia

    Clément Duvert

  4. College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

    Desmond E. Walling

  5. School of Physics (EFis) and Research Center for Nuclear, Atomic and Molecular Sciences (CICANUM), University of Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica

    Mario Cubero Campos

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  1. Christian Birkel
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  2. Clément Duvert
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  4. Desmond E. Walling
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Correspondence to Christian Birkel.

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Birkel, C., Duvert, C., Arias, K.V. et al. Exploratory radioisotope measurements suggest that in-stream erosion represents the main sediment source in a pristine, tropical rainforest in Costa Rica. J Soils Sediments 22, 3209–3224 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03325-6

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