Senior Research Associate The Jones Center at Ichauway Newton, Georgia, United States
Forest can promote wind resistance to protect habitat restoration and timber interests.
High taper and high stand density increase wind resistance but are negatively related.
Frequent thinning may reduce wind damage in open canopy longleaf pine restoration.
Uniform structure and smooth canopy may reduce wind damage in commercial stands.
Learning Objectives:
understand that damaging winds are likely to increase in coastal areas due to increased tropical storm activity.
explain that wind resistance in trees is the result of complex interactions between tree and stand characteristics. High stand density results in wind resistance through mutual support between trees, but also results in low taper which could leave trees susceptible to wind damage if stand density, and the mutual support it provides, is reduced. Increasing overall wind resistance in a stand, therefore, varies based on management goals: 1) Low stand density and high taper for open-canopy habitat restoration, and 2) high stand density and closed-canopy for timber production.
