Tree dynamic response and survival in a category-5 tropical cyclone: The case of super typhoon Trami

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.