Pit-and-mound topography

Pit and mounds are small, persistent microtopographical features that present themselves after a disturbance event occurs and uproots trees via windthrow. The uprooted tree falls, and a pit forms in the forest floor where the root mass and associated soil matrix used to be. Eventually after a period of time in which the roots decay, the associated soil matrix that was pulled out of the ground with the roots falls back to the ground, creating a corresponding mound.[1]

  1. ^ Šamonil, P., Král, K., & Hort, L. (2010). The role of tree uprooting in soil formation: A critical literature review. Geoderma, 157(3–4), 65-79.