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Vulnerability to strong winds for major tree species in a northern Japanese mixed forest: analyses of historical data

  • Original Article
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Ecological Research

Abstract

This study examined historical census data to evaluate the vulnerability of major tall-tree species in northern Japan to strong winds. Intensive data, which measured more than 20,000 damaged trees (defined as trees that were killed or lost their major crown) in >500 ha of a natural mixed forest, were collected immediately after a severe typhoon in 1954. More than half of the damaged trees had been uprooted, and the negative size-dependency was found for the proportion of uprooting throughout species. Simple correlation analyses with respect to the averaged species-specific characteristics suggested that tree species with a high crown-depth/height tended to uproot (against to stem breakage) in a size-class with diameter at breast height 30–50 cm. Although the census data had yielded no information about non-damaged trees, the estimation of pre-disturbed stand (based on 63 1-ha plot data together with aerial photographs and GIS) revealed that the observed damage reached ca. 25% in terms of basal area. The proportion of damaged trees seemed to be doubled among species (15–42% in basal area). A higher proportion of uprooting, which indicates a large supply of tip-up mounds, and mixture of less vulnerable species, might contribute to recovery process after a wind disturbance in this type of mixed forests.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. We also thank the staff of the Uryu Experimental Forest for the fieldwork and the data keeping. Thanks are also extended to A. Koizumi and S. Funakoshi for their providing references. This study was partly supported by the research projects fund from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (No. 17580123).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Uryu Experimental Forest, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Moshiri, Horokanai, Hokkaido, 074-0741, Japan

    Toshiya Yoshida

  2. Shikoku Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Kochi, Japan

    Mahoko Noguchi

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  1. Toshiya Yoshida
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  2. Mahoko Noguchi
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Correspondence to Toshiya Yoshida.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 6 Summary of characteristics, which are potentially related to windthrow, of subjected tree species
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Yoshida, T., Noguchi, M. Vulnerability to strong winds for major tree species in a northern Japanese mixed forest: analyses of historical data. Ecol Res 24, 909–919 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-008-0566-1

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