Landsliding and Effects of Timber Harvest in a Natural History Context

Landsliding and Effects of Timber Harvest in a Natural History Context | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Landsliding and Effects of Timber Harvest in a Natural History Context Lee Benda, Daniel Miller This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9254680/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract To better understand the long term geomorphic and ecologic consequences of modified landslide erosion rates in managed forests would require detailed field studies encompassing entire river networks over multiple decades. Logistical, funding, and institutional constraints limit that approach. As an alternative, we show how landsliding can be considered within a natural history context that provides a surrogate measure for interpreting environmental impacts. In the Oregon Coast Range, the natural history of landsliding is represented as empirically-estimated probability distributions of annual rates based on historical basin sediment budgets, landslide studies, and radiocarbon dating. In managed forests, the corresponding altered probability distributions of landslide rates are estimated by integrating timber harvest over time and integrating forest lands spatially over multi-ownerships and forest practices that typify the watershed scale. Timber harvest shifts the natural probability distribution of annual landslide rates by decreasing the occurrence of the very lowest values, including zeros. There is a corresponding rising of the right tail of the distribution, expressed by increasing higher rates. These rate modifications result in hypothetical shifts in the probability distributions of ages of landslide-related valley-floor landforms and of sediment supply to fish-bearing streams. The direction and magnitude of shifts in probability distributions of landslide rates and their effects on environments provide a new approach for considering environmental changes resulting from land use activities. Landslides timber harvest forestry environmental impact probability distribution Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 15 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 02 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 31 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 31 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 28 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9254680","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":618327030,"identity":"afe4f2ee-21f4-40bf-afaa-8b76309056b6","order_by":0,"name":"Lee Benda","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA/klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACPgYGNiDFzMAP4UswgHn4ABtMi2QbyVoMjiEECWhhbz724OMOa3nj+83HPlfUWOQZHO99bPiDwU5OtwGHFp5j6YYzz6QbbjvGljzzzDGJYoMzx42TeRiSjc0O4NAikWMmzdt2mHHbMR5jxgY2icRtN9KYDzMwHEjchkuL/Ptv0n/bDttvbuP/zNjwD6Ll4A98WiR42KQZ2w4nbmDjYWZsbINoSeDBp4Unzdywty09ecaxNGPGxj6JxP1njjEb8xjg9gs/++FnD362Wdv2Nx9+zNjwrS5xZnsbs+SPCjs5XFpwAQPSlI+CUTAKRsEoQAUAt+dXQjJ236EAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Oregon State University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lee","middleName":"","lastName":"Benda","suffix":""},{"id":618327031,"identity":"4fc2aa68-4fe3-4546-a286-78ad3f93cd6e","order_by":1,"name":"Daniel Miller","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"TerrainWorks","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Daniel","middleName":"","lastName":"Miller","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-28 18:23:31","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9254680/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9254680/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106404087,"identity":"638c5341-9f6b-4c0b-99b0-cf95a5ab00c7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-08 09:15:28","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1257085,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"BendaMillerNaturalHistory.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9254680/v1_covered_6b435a2a-3a10-4106-9f15-4b3306667e9c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eLandsliding and Effects of Timber Harvest in a Natural History Context\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"environmental-management","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"emvm","sideBox":"Learn more about [Environmental Management](http://link.springer.com/journal/267)","snPcode":"267","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/267/3","title":"Environmental Management","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Landslides, timber harvest, forestry, environmental impact, probability distribution","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9254680/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9254680/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eTo better understand the long term geomorphic and ecologic consequences of modified landslide erosion rates in managed forests would require detailed field studies encompassing entire river networks over multiple decades. 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