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Forests
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Effects of Wind on Trees
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Effects of Wind on Trees

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2020) | Viewed by 15175

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Dirk Schindler

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Meteorology, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, 79085 Freiburg, Germany
Interests: wind resource assessment; complementarity of renewable energies; wind hazards and disasters; storm damage; wind effects; climate change

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The effects of wind on trees are omnipresent and very complex. Wind loads act on all aerial tree parts throughout the life of a tree. Since wind loading occurs simultaneously over many scales, from individual leaves to the whole tree, it is an important subject of research on interactions between wind and trees. Without detailed knowledge of wind loads, an understanding of wind-induced tree reactions is not possible. The analysis of above-ground tree reactions to wind excitation is further complicated by the fact that the root system, which anchors trees in the ground, has an influence on the response behavior of trees to wind loading. The impacts of wind on trees are often differentiated into short-term and long-term effects. Wind loads excite dynamic to quasi-static tree reactions in the form of bending and torsional vibrations. In this context, very active research is being conducted into the processes that lead to storm damage to trees and forests. On the other hand, the long-term exposure of trees to the wind affects tree growth. Trees adapt to the wind climate to which they are exposed during their lifetime.

Aspects of wind–tree interactions to be covered in this Special Issue of Forests include wind-induced tree vibrations, tree biomechanics, mechanistic and statistical modeling of storm damage to trees and forests, and tree adaption to wind climate. Studies dealing with the management of economic and ecological impacts of wind on trees and forests are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Dirk Schindler
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • wind load
  • wind-tree interactions
  • root-soil interactions
  • tree
  • vibrations
  • wind breaks
  • wind acclimation
  • natural disturbance
  • storm
  • damage, ecological and economic impacts of wind

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

9 pages, 2214 KiB  
Communication
Root-Plate Characteristics of Common Aspen in Hemiboreal Forests of Latvia: A Case Study
by Valters Samariks, Dace Brizga, Jeļena Rūba, Andris Seipulis and Āris Jansons
Forests 2021, 12(1), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12010032 - 29 Dec 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2044
Abstract
Climate change will cause winds to strengthen and storms to become more frequent in Northern Europe. Windstorms reduce the financial value of forests by bending, breaking, or uprooting trees, and wind-thrown trees cause additional economic losses. The resistance of trees to wind damage [...] Read more.
Climate change will cause winds to strengthen and storms to become more frequent in Northern Europe. Windstorms reduce the financial value of forests by bending, breaking, or uprooting trees, and wind-thrown trees cause additional economic losses. The resistance of trees to wind damage depends on tree species, tree- and stand-scale parameters, and root-soil plate characteristics such as root-plate size, weight, and rooting depth. The root-soil plate is a complex structure whose mechanical strength is dependent on root-plate width and depth, as the root system provides root attachment with soil and structural support. In Latvia, the common aspen (Populus tremula L.) root system has been studied to develop a belowground biomass model, because information about root system characteristics in relation to tree wind resistance is scarce. The aim of this study was to assess the root-plate dimensions of common aspen stands on fertile mineral soil (luvisol). Study material was collected in the central region of Latvia, where pure mature (41–60 years old) common aspen stands were randomly selected, and dominant trees within the stand were chosen. In total, ten sample trees from ten stands were uprooted. The diameter at breast height (DBH) and tree height (H) were measured for each sample tree, and their roots were excavated, divided into groups, washed, measured, and weighed. The highest naturally moist biomass values were observed for coarse roots, and fine root biomass was significantly lower compared to other root groups. All root group biomass values had a strong correlation with the tree DBH. The obtained results show that there is a close, negative relationship between the relative distance from the stem and the relative root-plate depth distribution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Wind on Trees)
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12 pages, 8944 KiB  
Article
Effect of Stem Snapping on Aspen Timber Assortment Recovery in Hemiboreal Forests
by Linda Čakša, Silva Šēnhofa, Guntars Šņepsts, Didzis Elferts, Līga Liepa and Āris Jansons
Forests 2021, 12(1), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12010028 - 28 Dec 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2289
Abstract
Post-disturbance salvage logging mitigates economic loss after windthrow, and the value of salvaged timber is strongly linked to its quality and dimensions. We studied the occurrence of wind-induced damage of aspen in the hemiboreal forests of Latvia based on data from the National [...] Read more.
Post-disturbance salvage logging mitigates economic loss after windthrow, and the value of salvaged timber is strongly linked to its quality and dimensions. We studied the occurrence of wind-induced damage of aspen in the hemiboreal forests of Latvia based on data from the National Forest Inventory and additional measurements. Individual tree data from three re-measurement periods were linked to follow a tree condition (live, broken, uprooted) and to link tree characteristics to a respective snag. Three linear models were developed to assess factors affecting the snapping height. An assortment outcome was calculated for undamaged and salvaged trees using the bucking algorithm, and timber value was calculated at three price levels. Wind-induced damage occurred for 3.4–3.6% of aspen trees, and among these, 45.8–46.6% were broken. The mean height of the broken trees was 27.3 ± 0.9 m, and it was significantly higher (both p < 0.01) compared to the height of undamaged and uprooted trees. The tested models indicated tree height as the main explanatory variable for relative snapping height, with higher trees having a lower point of the stem breakage. The other significant factor was the forest type group, indicating that trees growing on dry mineral soils had lower relative snapping height than trees growing on drained mineral soils. Stem breakage significantly (p < 0.001) reduced the volume of assortments, as compared to the volume of undamaged trees. Relative volume loss of sawlogs showed a logarithmic trend with a steep increase up to snapping height of 6 m, and it correlated tightly (r = 0.83, p < 0.001) with relative value loss of the total stem. Timber value loss had a strong, positive relation to tree diameter at breast height and fluctuated by 0.4% among different price levels. The mean volume reduction was 37.7% for sawlogs, 11.0% for pallet blocks, and 8.9% for technological wood. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Wind on Trees)
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10 pages, 2133 KiB  
Article
A Financial Assessment of Windstorm Risks for Scots Pine Stands in Hemiboreal Forests
by Janis Donis, Renate Saleniece, Oskars Krisans, Edgars Dubrovskis, Mara Kitenberga and Aris Jansons
Forests 2020, 11(5), 566; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11050566 - 18 May 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2398
Abstract
Windstorms are a significant disturbance in northern European Scots pine forests. Mechanistic models for assessment of their impact have been developed. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of windstorms on the financial value of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris [...] Read more.
Windstorms are a significant disturbance in northern European Scots pine forests. Mechanistic models for assessment of their impact have been developed. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of windstorms on the financial value of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands. Wind damage probability in stands with certain dimensions (linked to age and site index) and the reduced value retrieved from salvage logging instead of planned harvest in undamaged stands were used for calculation. Equivalent annual annuity with interest rates of 3%, 4%, and 5%, three different commercial thinning regimes, and different planting densities were used to assess the mean influence. Wind damage risk had a notable and significant negative effect on the financial value of Scots pine forest stands. Equivalent annual annuity decreased sharply with stand age, especially in the most productive sites (SI 36). The negative financial impact could be reduced by selection of a lower initial planting density (1000–2000 trees ha−1 instead of 3000) and by reducing the rotation period, for example, by using target diameter as the criteria for the time of final harvest. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Wind on Trees)
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8 pages, 890 KiB  
Article
Presence of Root Rot Reduces Stability of Norway Spruce (Picea abies): Results of Static Pulling Tests in Latvia
by Oskars Krisans, Roberts Matisons, Steffen Rust, Natalija Burnevica, Lauma Bruna, Didzis Elferts, Liene Kalvane and Aris Jansons
Forests 2020, 11(4), 416; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11040416 - 8 Apr 2020
Cited by 30 | Viewed by 3318
Abstract
Storms are the main abiotic disturbance in European forests, effects of which are expected to intensify in the future, hence the importance of forest stand stability is increasing. The predisposition of Norway spruce to wind damage appears to be enhanced by pathogens such [...] Read more.
Storms are the main abiotic disturbance in European forests, effects of which are expected to intensify in the future, hence the importance of forest stand stability is increasing. The predisposition of Norway spruce to wind damage appears to be enhanced by pathogens such as Heterobasidion spp., which reduce stability of individual trees. However, detailed information about the effects of the root rot on the stability of individual trees across diverse soil types is still lacking. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of root rot on the individual tree stability of Norway spruce growing on drained peat and mineral soils. In total, 77 Norway spruce trees (age 50–80 years) growing in four stands were tested under static loading. The presence of Heterobasidion spp. had a significant negative effect on the bending moment at primary and secondary failure of the tested trees irrespectively of soil type. This suggests increased legacy effects (e.g., susceptibility to pathogens and pests due to fractured roots and altered water uptake) of storms. Damaged trees act as weak spots increasing the susceptibility of stands to wind damage, thus forming a negative feedback loop and contributing to an ongoing decline in vitality of Norway spruce stands following storms in the study region in the future. Accordingly, the results support the importance of timely identification of the decayed trees, lowering stand density and/or shortening rotation period as the measures to counteract the increasing effects of storms on Norway spruce stands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Wind on Trees)
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20 pages, 4099 KiB  
Article
Assessment of the Response of a Scots Pine Tree to Effective Wind Loading
by Dirk Schindler and Sven Kolbe
Forests 2020, 11(2), 145; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11020145 - 26 Jan 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3608
Abstract
The parameterization of hybrid-mechanistic storm damage models is largely based on the results of tree pulling tests. The tree pulling tests are used for imitating the quasi-static wind load associated with the mean wind speed. The combined effect of dynamic and quasi-static wind [...] Read more.
The parameterization of hybrid-mechanistic storm damage models is largely based on the results of tree pulling tests. The tree pulling tests are used for imitating the quasi-static wind load associated with the mean wind speed. The combined effect of dynamic and quasi-static wind loads associated with wind load maxima is considered by either linearly increasing the quasi-static wind load by a gust factor or by using a turning moment coefficient determined from the relationship between maxima of wind-induced tree response and wind speed. To improve the joint use of information on dynamic and quasi-static wind loading, we present a new method that uses the coupled components of momentum flux time series and time series of stem orientation of a plantation-grown Scots pine tree. First, non-oscillatory tree motion components, which respond to wind excitation, are isolated from oscillatory components that are not coupled to the wind. The non-oscillatory components are detected by applying a sequence of time series decomposition methods including bi-orthogonal decomposition and singular spectrum analysis. Then, the wind-excited tree response components are subjected to dynamic time warping, which maximizes the coincidence between the processed data. The strong coincidence of the time-warped data allows for the estimation of the wind-induced tree response as a function of the effective wind load using simple linear regression. The slope of the regression line represents the rate of change in the tree response as the effective wind load changes. Because of the strength of the relationship, we argue that the method described is an improvement for the analysis of storm damage in forests and to individual trees. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Wind on Trees)
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