Many retreating Alpine valley glaciers leave large lateral moraines behind. Reworking of these landforms by geomorphic processes is one of the most important paraglacial processes in many Alpine environments. Although several studies investigated moraine reworking by gullying processes, it is not well known what happens when gullying ceases and why and when lateral moraine slopes become stable. This study improves the understanding of the paraglacial transition from active to stable Alpine lateral moraine slopes by assessing potential influencing factors, indicators for completed paraglacial adjustment, and its spatiotemporal patterns using a combination of geomorphic and ecologic data. A geomorphic and ecologic permanent plot survey and geomorphic mapping were carried out on three lateral moraine complexes in the Turtmann glacier foreland (Switzerland). Subsequently, permanent plot data were analysed using multivariate statistics. Our study suggests that ecosystem engineering by colonizing plant species, slope geomorphometry, and material properties are important factors influencing the paraglacial transition from active to stable slopes. Geomorphic processes are often absent once vertical vegetation layers and soil horizons develop, showing that mature vegetation and advanced soil development are valuable indicators for slope stability and completed paraglacial adjustment. In a conceptual model, we describe the paraglacial transition of Alpine lateral moraine slopes as a temporal sequence in which gullying (Stage I), solifluction (Stage II), and finally stabilization (Stage III) follow one after another. In space, paraglacial adjustment is heterogeneous, and resulting patterns can be explained by the identified influencing factors.

中文翻译：

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从活跃到稳定：高山侧碛斜坡的冰旁过渡

许多后退的阿尔卑斯山谷冰川留下了巨大的横向冰碛。通过地貌过程对这些地貌进行改造是许多高山环境中最重要的副冰期过程之一。尽管有几项研究调查了通过沟壑过程重新加工冰碛，但尚不清楚沟壑停止时会发生什么以及为什么以及何时横向碛坡变得稳定。本研究通过结合地貌和生态数据评估潜在影响因素、完成副冰河调整的指标及其时空模式，提高了对从活跃到稳定的高山侧冰碛斜坡的副冰河过渡的理解。对Turtmann冰川前地（瑞士）的三个侧碛复合体进行了地貌和生态永久小区调查和地貌测绘。随后，使用多变量统计分析永久地块数据。我们的研究表明，通过植物物种定植、斜坡地貌测量和材料特性进行的生态系统工程是影响从活动斜坡向稳定斜坡过渡的重要因素。一旦垂直植被层和土壤层发育，地貌过程往往不存在，表明成熟的植被和先进的土壤发育是斜坡稳定性和完成冰河边调整的重要指标。在一个概念模型中，我们将高山侧碛斜坡的冰缘过渡描述为一个时间序列，其中沟壑（第一阶段），孤独（第二阶段），最后稳定（第三阶段）一个接着一个。在空间上，冰缘调整是异质的，由此产生的模式可以通过确定的影响因素来解释。