## 4 Diversity, Landslide Dynamics, and Mountainscapes
### Soil and Lithology Attributes, Montane Ecosystems, and Landsliding
Kinabalu, Malaysian Borneo, a study centered on two lithologies (sedimentary and ultramafic lithologies) and 32 catchments (16 per lithology) found that remotely sensed foliar P and N were significantly and positively correlated with a measure of hillslope disequilibrium (HD; decaying to steepening) in areas underlain by both lithologies; for remotely sensed foliar Ca, this was true but only in areas underlain by sedimentary lithologies [69]. Finally, LMA was negatively correlated with HD. This work not only has informed about underlying rock and soil properties but also suggested the role of erosional processes in supplying rock-derived nutrients to ecosystems, otherwise referred to as soil rejuvenation. The second approach to characterize underlying substrates from remote sensing data in hilly and mountainous humid environments with dense canopies is based on Geobotani-cal Remote Sensing (GbRS) [253; 254]. Deeply rooted in phyto/bio geochemistry, geobotany, and phytoremediation [99; 255; 256; 257; 258], GbRS uses remotely sensed data to identify vegetation anomalies, indicator species, and plant traits associated with heavy metal pollution, mineralization, and geo-environments for the purpose of phytoremediation, mineral exploration, and geologic delineation [259; 260; 261; 262; 263; 264; 265; 266; 267; 268; 269; 270; 271]. The principle behind GbRS is that plants growing at sites with anomalous concentrations of metals have altered physiological states that can be observed in the chemical and spectral signatures of leaves, the height and phenology of individuals and populations, and the composition and structure of communities; soil properties include concentration of elements and minerals (Figure 1). These altered physiological states reflect stress or hyperaccumulation of metals. At any given site targeted for mineral exploration, the within-species responses to different minerals as well as the among-species responses to a single mineral can be highly variable, and this has the potential to identify indicator species. In the context of ecosystem-geomorphic interaction studies, this work can potentially inform about changes in the redistribution of biomass between the ecosystem's above- and belowground compartments and their influence on slope stability and landslide regeneration (Figure 1). In addition, it can inform about plant-microbial associations that may help plants survive under stressful conditions. Integrating Plant, Soil, and Rock Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Studies to Understand the Functional Significance of Landslides in Mountainscapes  
The \"ecosystem-centered\" view of landslides outlined in Figure 1 recognizes the critical influence of biodiversity both on slope resistance and susceptibility to failure and landslide recovery, and more broadly of interactions between ecosystem and geomorphic processes driving the dynamics of mountainouscapes mediated by landslides [162; 163; 164; 165]. In addition, this view acknowledges the importance of landslide size [43; 44] and scale [163] to understand interactions between ecosystem and geomorphic processes from individual landslides and sites to entire landslide populations, assemblages, and landscapes. Fieldwork has greatly contributed to the characterization of soil and plant communities in landslides and nearby forests based on a very small fraction of sites and landslides therein, e.g., [174; 272; 273] that do not reflect the global importance of this process [274]. The scarcity of field studies may be partially explained by the difficulties in accessing landslides, including the perils involved. Bringing these studies and trait databases together has allowed a taxonomic and functional characterization of landslides locally [275; 272] and globally [276]; yet, the databases are limited in terms of the traits and species for which these data have been recorded.