Shape still matters – rockfall experiments with deadwood reveal a new facet of rock shape relevance

Mountain forests have a substantial protective function in preventing natural hazards. Rates of deadwood production have already increased and are predicted to rise further, due to natural disturbances. In particular, higher windthrow event frequencies are expected, primarily due to the emerging even-aged forest stands in alpine regions combined with climate change. Here, we quantified the rockfall protection effect of mountain forests with and without deadwood in unprecedented detail. Repetitive experiments were conducted in which the two most important rock shapes from a hazard potential point of view and masses of 200 kg up to 3200 kg were considered. Based on a multi-camera setup, pre-and post-experimentally retrieved high- resolution lidar data, and rock data measured in situ, we completely reconstructed 63 trajectories. Every parameter of interest describing the rockfall kinematics was retrieved for each trajectory. A total of 164 tree impacts and 55 deadwood impacts were observed, and the currently applied energy absorption curves – partially only derived theoretically – could consequently be corroborated or even expanded to a greater absorption performance of certain species than hitherto assumed. Standing trees in general and deadwood, in particular, were found to strongly impede the notorious lateral spreading of platy rocks. Platy rocks featured a shorter mean run-out distance than their compact counterparts of similar weight, even in the absence of deadwood. These results indicate that the higher hazard potential of platy rocks compared with more compact rocks, previously postulated for open field terrain, applies less to forested areas. Lastly, reproducing the experimental setting showcases how complex forest states can be treated within rockfall simulations. Overall, the results of this study highlight the importance of incorporating horizontal forest structures that are as accurate as possible into simulations in order to obtain realistic deposition patterns.