Abstract
To examine the hypothesis that both stem and crown mass affect the resistance of a tree to uprooting and that tree resistance increases with increasing crown mass, we conducted tree-pulling experiments on three Picea glehnii plantations (stands A, B, and C: 27–32 years old) that differed in tree density and slenderness ratio. Allometries between crown and stem masses and between the critical uprooting moment and stem mass differed significantly among the three stands, with the crown mass and critical moment significantly larger in stand C than in stands A or B, despite the same stem mass. These results quantitatively verified our hypothesis. Allometries between crown and stem masses and between critical uprooting moment and stem mass were highly significant in each stand but were stand specific. Therefore, these allometries can be used to estimate tree resistance to uprooting in a given stand but not for data compiled from stands of various conditions and tree shapes. The allometry between critical moment and aboveground mass did not differ among the three Picea stands; thus, it is not stand specific and is generally appropriate to use for estimating tree resistance. To increase tree resistance to uprooting, we recommend light management for Picea glehnii plantations and probably other coniferous plantations as well.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achim A, Ruel J-C, Gardiner BA (2005a) Evaluating the effect of precommercial thinning on the resistance of balsam fir to windthrow through experimentation, modeling, and development of simple indices. Can J For Res 35:1844–1853
Achim A, Ruel J-C, Gardiner BA, Laflamme G, Meunier S (2005b) Modelling the vulnerability of balsam fir forests to wind damage. For Ecol Manag 204:35–50
Ancelin P, Courbaud B, Fourcaud T (2004) Development of an individual tree-based mechanical model to predict wind damage within forest stands. For Ecol Manag 203:101–121
Bergeron C, Ruel J-C, Elie J-G, Mitchell SJ (2009) Root anchorage and stem strength of black spruce (Picea mariana) trees in regular and irregular stands. Forestry 82:29–41
Blackburn P, Petty JA (1988) Theoretical calculations of the influence of spacing on stand stability. Forestry 61:235–244
Byrne KE, Mitchell SJ (2007) Overturning resistance of western redcedar and western hemlock in mixed-species stands in coastal British Columbia. Can J For Res 37:931–939
Chiba Y (2000) Modelling stem breakage caused by typhoons in plantation Cryptomeria japonica forests. For Ecol Manag 135:123–131
Coutts MP (1986) Components of tree stability in Sitka spruce on peaty gley soil. Forestry 59:173–179
Cremer KW, Borough CJ, McKinnel FH, Carter PR (1982) Effects of stocking and thinning on wind damage in plantations. NZ J For Sci 12:244–268
Cucchi V, Meredieu C, Stokes A, Coligny F, Suarez J, Gardiner B (2005) Modeling the windthrow risk for simulated forest stands of Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.). For Ecol Manag 213:184–196
Elie J-G, Ruel J-C (2005) Windthrow hazard modeling in boreal forests of black spruce and jack pine. Can J For Res 35:2655–2663
Falster DS, Warton DI, Wright IJ (2006) SMATR: standardised major axis tests and routines, ver 2.0. http://www.bio.mq.edu.au/ecology/SMATR
Fredericksen TS, Hedden RL, Williams SA (1993) Testing loblolly pine wind firmness with simulated wind stress. Can J For Res 23:1760–1765
Gardiner BA, Quine CP (2000) Management of forests to reduce the risk of abiotic damage––a review with particular reference to the effects of strong winds. For Ecol Manag 135:261–277
Gardiner BA, Stacey GR, Belcher RE, Wood CJ (1997) Field and wind tunnel assessments of the implications of respacing and thinning for tree stability. Forestry 70:233–252
Gardiner BA, Peltola H, Kellomäki S (2000) Comparison of two models for predicting the critical wind speeds required to damage coniferous trees. Ecol Model 129:1–23
Kilpatrick DJ, Sanderson JM, Savill PS (1981) The influence of five early respacing treatments on the growth of Sitka spruce. Forestry 54:17–29
Kira T, Shidei T (1967) Primary production and turnover of organic matter in different forest ecosystems of the western Pacific. Jpn J Ecol 17:70–87
Koizumi A (1987) Studies on the estimation of the mechanical properties of standing trees by non-destructive bending test. Res Bull Coll Exp For Hokkaido Univ 44:1329–1415 (in Japanese)
Koizumi A, Oonuma N, Sasaki Y, Takahashi K (2007) Difference in uprooting resistance among coniferous species planted in soils of volcanic origin. J For Res 12:237–242
MacCurrach RS (1991) Spacing: an option for reducing storm damage. Scot For 45:285–297
Mayhead GJ (1973) Some drag coefficients for British forest trees derived wind tunnel studies. Agr Meteorol 12:123–130
Meunier S, Ruel J-C, Laflamme G, Achim A (2002) Résistance comparée de ľéopinette blanche et du sapin baumier au renversement. Can J For Res 32:642–652
Moore JR (2000) Differences in maximum resistive bending moments of Pinus radiata trees grown on a range of soil types. For Ecol Manag 135:63–71
Moore J, Quine CP (2000) A comparison of the relative risk of wind damage to planted forests in Border Forest Park, Great Britain, and the Central North Island, New Zealand. For Ecol Manag 135:345–353
Nicoll BC, Achim A, Mochan S, Gardiner BA (2005) Does steep terrain influence tree stability? A field investigation. Can J For Res 35:2360–2367
Nicoll BC, Gardiner BA, Rayner B, Peace AJ (2006) Anchorage of coniferous trees in relation to species, soil type, and rooting depth. Can J For Res 36:1871–1883
Oohata S (1991) A study to estimate the forest biomass––a non-cutting method to use the piled data. Bull Kyoto Univ For 63:23–36 (in Japanese)
Papesch AJG, Moore JR, Hawke AE (1997) Mechanical stability of Pinus radiata trees at Eyrewell Forest investigated using static tests. NZ J For Sci 27:188–204
Peltola H, Kellomäki S (1993) A mechanistic model for calculating windthrow and stem breakage of Scots pines at stand edge. Silva Fenn 27:99–111
Peltola H, Kellomäki S, Väisänen H, Ikonen V-P (1999) A mechanistic model for assessing the risk of wind and snow damage to single trees and stands of Scots pine, Norway spruce, and birch. Can J For Res 29:647–661
Polley VH (1995) Beurteilung der mechanischen Stabilität der Waldbäume auf der Grundlage der Bundeswaldinventur. Forst und Holz 50:594–597
R Development Core Team (2008) R: a language and environment for statistics computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna. http://www.R-project.org
Rollinson TJD (1988) Respacing Sitka spruce. Forestry 61:1–22
Ruel J-C (1995) Understanding windthrow: silvicultural implications. For Chron 71:434–445
Rundnicki M, Mitchell SJ, Novak MD (2004) Wind tunnel measurements of crown streamlining and drag relationships for three conifer species. Can J For Res 34:666–676
Sato H, Torita H, Masaka K, Kon H, Shibuya M (2009) Analysis of windthrow factors in windbreaks: in the case of Bibai, Hokkaido by typhoon No. 18 in 2004. J Jpn For Soc 91:307–312 (in Japanese)
Savill PS (1983) Silviculture in windy climates. For Abst 44:473–488
Shinozaki K, Yoda K, Hozumi K, Kira T (1964) A quantitative analysis of plant form–the pipe model theory II. Further evidence of the theory and its application in forest ecology. Jpn J Ecol 14:133–139
Torita H (2009) Mechanical evaluation of the Japanese larch for wind damage. J Jpn For Soc 91:120–124 (in Japanese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Urata, T., Shibuya, M., Koizumi, A. et al. Both stem and crown mass affect tree resistance to uprooting. J For Res 17, 65–71 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-011-0249-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-011-0249-6