Tree dynamic response and survival in a category-5 tropical cyclone: The case of super typhoon Trami.
other · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35275731.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abm7891 and PMC identifier 8916734.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC.
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Abstract
In the future with climate change, we expect more forest and tree damage due to the increasing strength and changing trajectories of tropical cyclones (TCs). However, to date, we have limited information to estimate likely damage levels, and nobody has ever measured exactly how forest trees behave mechanically during a TC. In 2018, a category-5 TC destroyed trees in our ongoing research plots, in which we were measuring tree movement and wind speed in two different tree spacing plots. We found damaged trees in only the wider spaced plot. Here, we present how trees dynamically respond to strong winds during a TC. Sustained strong winds obviously trigger the damage to trees and forests but inter-tree spacing is also a key factor because the level of support from neighboring trees modifies the effective "stiffness" against the wind both at the single tree and whole forest stand level.