## 4 Diversity, Landslide Dynamics, and Mountainscapes
### Soil and Lithology Attributes, Montane Ecosystems, and Landsliding  
In mountainous environments, parent material strongly influences soil [222; 223; 224; 225] and ecosystem [226; 227; 228] properties with likely consequences on slope stability and ultimately landsliding (Figure 1a). Yet, it is also likely that the exposure of fresh rock resulting from landslide activity sets in motion geochemical, biogeochemical, and biological processes poorly linked but that may have profound consequences for the biosphere. Addressing these possibilities, however, is difficult given the poor characterization of parent materials in many mountainous regions around the world. In this regard, multi- and hyperspectral remotely sensed data have been invaluable for lithological mapping of hilly and mountainous regions [17; 39; 229; 230]. These data have also been used, albeit to a lesser extent, to quantify rock mineralogy, geochemistry, and degree of weathering [231; 232; 233; 234; 235; 236] and characterize soil properties [237; 238; 239; 240; 241; 242; 243]. One common thread among most of this work is its focus on bare rock and soil or ecosystems with sparse vegetation, such as deserts, grasslands, or croplands. Yet, landslides often occur in densely vegetated mountains. Here, landslide activity exposes bare substrates, and this may open opportunities to study rock and soil processes, borrowing work conducted beyond these environments [244; 245; 246; 247; 248]. In hilly and mountainous humid environments with dense canopies, two complementary approaches may help characterize underlying parent material and soil properties, landslides undergoing succession, and/or ecosystem-geomorphic interactions. Although both focus on the vegetation, their emphasis varies. The first approach uses remote sensing to establish relationships between leaf/canopy traits retrieved from multi- and hyperspectral data (see Section 3) and soil fertility. In planted and natural forests, a reduction in leaf area and foliar concentration of chlorophyll (Chl), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) is associated with nutrient deficiencies that, in the case of rock-derived nutrients (e.g., P), are inherited from parent material (Figure 1; [228]). In the archipelago of Hawaii, three studies that used airborne LiDAR and hyperspectral data to obtain tree heights, including derived estimates of aboveground biomass and foliar N and P have contributed different insights into leaf traits-ecosystem function relationships. Across a substrate age gradient--a surrogate for degree of weathering and nutrient limitation--mean foliar N was slightly greater at the two intermediate-age sites, whereas the variability of tree height, but not its mean, increased with substrate age [249]. In Kaua'i, the oldest island of the archipelago, remotely sensed foliar P resembled spatial predictions of foliar P based on analytical measurements, elevation, and rainfall [250]. More specifically, the concentration of foliar P was highest in lower slopes and depositional areas and lowest on ridges and the stable shield surfaces. A negative correlation between foliar P and strontium isotopes indicated that increased fertility was the result of inputs from rock weathering. Finally, in Hawai'i, the youngest of the islands, remotely sensed foliar N did not change with substrate characteristics, but the same was not true for aboveground biomass [76]. In Costa Rica, low concentrations of remotely sensed foliar N were observed on slopes, whereas high concentrations on ridges [70]; several soil N metrics followed this pattern [251]. In the Andean foothills of eastern Peru, remotely sensed foliar concentrations of N and rock-derived nutrients (P, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and potassium (K)) increased non-linearly with incision depth; the opposite was true for LMA [198; 252]. Furthermore, remotely sensed foliar Ca and K were significantly and positively correlated with the corresponding available nutrients in soil, whereas foliar and soil P were negatively correlated. In Mt.