Snow avalanche; Debris flow; Scarred tree; Pinus mugo var. mugo

Snow avalanches (SA) and debris flows (DF) are among the widespread geomorphic processes in high mountains. One of the most reliable method for determining their historical occurrence is related to dendrogeomorphical analyses. Sampling focused only on one process suffers from the noise caused by disturbances induced by the other process. Thus, the aim of this paper is to find specific parameters of stem scars that significantly differ when they are caused by different processes. For this purpose, six parameters of 102 sampled scars on mountain pine (Pinus mugo var. mugo) individuals growing on the polygenic debris fan in the High Tatra Mountains were recorded. For the verification of origin of scars from historically known DF and SA events, the intra-seasonal dating of callus tissue using microcuts was performed. 50 DF scars and 52 SA scars were identified and analysed. Several significant differences were identified, which serve as recommendations for a future sampling strategy.