Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

First Steps Toward Defining the Wind Disturbance Regime in Central Hardwoods Forests

  • Chapter
Natural Disturbances and Historic Range of Variation

Part of the book series: Managing Forest Ecosystems ((MAFE,volume 32))

Abstract

Wind disturbance is one of the most prevalent natural disturbances in the Central Hardwoods Region (CHR). All ecoregions within the CHR are subject to a greater or lesser degree to tornado, derecho or thunderstorm wind damage, with an east-to-west increase in the importance of tornadoes and derechos. At the regional scale, hurricanes decrease in importance with distance from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The disturbed patch sizes created by these various storms include occasional very large (e.g., >25 ha) patches, but the great majority are a few ha or less, perhaps differing from common visual impressions. Hurricane and derecho disturbance patterns appear to be more predictable in relation to topographic features, whereas tornado damage is much more stochastic. All wind disturbance types cause greater damage to larger trees, and most studies reveal interspecific differences in levels of wind damage, although such patterns are not always consistent among studies or locations. Wind disturbance commonly advances succession in second-growth forest but may set succession back in primary forests. The greatest research needs are landscape-scale patterns of damage; relationships of damage to topography and soils; clarifying the tree characteristics (e.g., architecture, wood strength, rooting depth) that underlie interspecific differences in vulnerability; and documenting ecosystem effects of wind disturbance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Agee, E. M., & Hendricks, A. (2011). An assessment of the climatology of Florida hurricane-induced tornadoes (HITs): Technology versus meteorology. Journal of Climate, 24, 5218–5222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen, M. S., Thapa, V., Arévalo, J. R., & Palmer, M. W. (2012). Windstorm damage and forest recovery: Accelerated succession, stand structure, and spatial pattern over 25 years in two Minnesota forests. Plant Ecology, 213, 1833–1842.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amiro, B. D., Barr, A. G., Barr, J. G., Black, T. A., Bracho, R., Brown, M., Chen, J., Clark, K. L., Davis, K. J., Desai, A. R., Dore, S., Engel, V., Fuentes, J. D., Goldstein, A. H., Goulden, M. L., Kolb, T. E., Lavigne, M. B., Law, B. E., Margolis, H. A., Martin, T., McCaughey, J. H., Misson, L., Montes-Helu, M., Noormets, A., Randerson, J. T., Starr, G., & Xiao, J. (2010). Ecosystem carbon dioxide fluxes after disturbance in forests of North America. Journal of Geophysical Research, 115, G00K02. doi:10.1029/2010JG001390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arévalo, J. R., DeCoster, J. K., McAlister, S. D., & Palmer, M. W. (2000). Changes in two Minnesota forests during 14 years following catastrophic windthrow. Journal of Vegetation Science, 11, 833–840.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashley, W. S., & Mote, T. L. (2005). Derecho hazards in the United States. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 86, 1577–1592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barr, J. G., Engel, V., Smith, T. J., & Fuentes, J. D. (2012). Hurricane disturbance and recovery of energy balance, CO2 fluxes and canopy structure in a mangrove forest of the Florida everglades. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 153, 54–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battaglia, L. L., Sharitz, R. R., & Minchin, P. R. (1999). Patterns of seedling and overstory composition along a gradient of hurricane disturbance in an old-growth bottomland hardwood community. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 29, 144–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beatty, S. W. (1984). Influence of microtopography and canopy species on spatial patterns of forest understory plants. Ecology, 65, 1406–1419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boose, E. R., Foster, D. R., & Fluet, M. (1994). Hurricane impacts to tropical and temperate forest landscapes. Ecological Monographs, 64, 369–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brewer, R., & Merritt, P. G. (1978). Wind throw and tree replacement in a climax beech-maple forest. Oikos, 30, 149–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, H. E. (2004). On the relationship of tornado path length and width to intensity. Weather and Forecasting, 19, 310–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Busing, R. T., White, R. D., Harmon, M. E., & White, P. S. (2009). Hurricane disturbance in a temperate deciduous forest: Patch dynamics, tree mortality, and coarse woody detritus. Plant Ecology, 201, 351–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canham, C. D., & Loucks, O. L. (1984). Catastrophic windthrow in the presettlement forests of Wisconsin. Ecology, 65, 803–809.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canham, C. D., Papaik, M. J., & Latty, E. F. (2001). Interspecific variation in susceptibility to windthrow as a function of tree size and storm severity for northern temperate tree species. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 31, 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpino, E. (1998). Ecological determinants of hurricane damage in a southeastern Piedmont forest. Dissertation, Duke University, Durham

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, E. L., Chambers, J. Q., Ribbeck, K. F., Baker, D. B., Tobler, M. A., Zeng, H., & White, D. A. (2008). Hurricane Katrina impacts on forest trees of Louisiana’s Pearl River basin. Forest Ecology and Management, 256, 883–889.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, B. S., & Battaglia, L. L. (2002). Microenvironmental heterogeneity and Quercus michauxii regeneration in experimental gaps. Forest Ecology and Management, 155, 279–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper-Ellis, S., Foster, D. R., Carlton, G., & Lezberg, A. (1999). Forest response to catastrophic wind: Results from an experimental hurricane. Ecology, 80, 2683–2696.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corfidi, S., Evans, J. S., & Johns, R. H. (Undated). About derechos. NOAA Storm Prediction Center webpage. http://www.spc.noaa.gov/misc/AbtDerechos/derechofacts.htm. Accessed 10 Dec 2014.

  • Cowden, M. M., Hart, J. L., Schweitzer, C. J., & Dey, D. C. (2014). Effects of intermediate-scale wind disturbance on composition, structure, and succession in Quercus stands: Implications for natural disturbance-based silviculture. Forest Ecology and Management, 330, 240–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahal, D., Liu, S., & Oeding, J. (2014). The carbon cycle and hurricanes in the United States between 1900 and 2011. Natural Scientific Reports, 4, 5197.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davies-Jones, R., Trapp, R. J., & Bluestein, H. B. (2001). Tornadoes and tornadic storms. Meteorological Monographs, 28, 167–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duever, M. J., & McCollom, J. M. (1993). Hurricane Hugo effects on old-growth floodplain forest communities at Four Holes Swamp, South Carolina. Proceedings of the Seventh Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference, Mobile, pp. 197–202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, C. P., Guntenspergen, G. R., & Dorney, J. R. (1983). Catastrophic wind disturbance in an old-growth hemlock-hardwood forest, Wisconsin. Canadian Journal of Botany, 61, 211–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, R., LaDue, J. G., Ferree, J. T., Sharfenberg, K., Maier, C., & Coulbourne, W. L. (2013). Tornado intensity estimation: Past, present and future. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 94, 641–653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, K. J., Hitchcock, S. L., & Krueger, L. (2002). Vegetation response to large scale disturbance in a southern Appalachian forest: Hurricane Opal and salvage logging. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 129, 48–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, A. M., Camp, A. E., Tyrrell, M. L., & Riely, C. C. (2007). Biotic and abiotic influences on wind disturbance in forests of NW Pennsylvania, USA. Forest Ecology and Management, 245, 44–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Everham, E. M., & Brokaw, N. V. L. (1996). Forest damage and recovery from catastrophic wind. The Botanical Review, 62, 113–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster, D. R. (1988). Species and stand response to catastrophic wind in central New England, USA. Journal of Ecology, 76, 135–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster, D. R., & Boose, E. R. (1992). Patterns of forest damage resulting from catastrophic wind in central New England, USA. Journal of Ecology, 80, 79–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster, D. R., & Boose, E. R. (1995). Hurricane disturbance regimes in temperate and tropical forest ecosystems. In M. P. Coutts & J. Grace (Eds.), Wind and trees. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster, D. R., Aber, J. D., Melillo, J. M., Bowden, R. D., & Bazzaz, F. A. (1997). Forest response to disturbance and anthropogenic stress. BioScience, 47, 437–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster, D. R., Knight, D. H., & Franklin, J. F. (1998). Landscape patterns and legacies resulting from large, infrequent forest disturbances. Ecosystems, 1, 497–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franklin, J. F., Lindenmayer, D. B., MacMahon, J. A., McKee, A., Magnusson, J., Perry, D. A., Waide, R., & Foster, D. R. (2000). Threads of continuity: Ecosystem disturbance, biological legacies and ecosystem recovery. Conservation Biology in Practice, 1, 8–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frelich, L. E., & Ostuno, E. J. (2012). Estimating wind speeds of convective storms from tree damage. Electronic Journal of Severe Storms Meteorology, 7, 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fujita, T. T. (1971). Proposed characterization of tornadoes and hurricanes by area and intensity (Satellite and mesometeorology research project report 91). Chicago: University of Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaffin, D. M. (2009). On high winds and foehn warming associated with mountain-wave events in the western foothills of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Weather and Forecasting, 24, 53–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glitzenstein, J. S., & Harcombe, P. A. (1988). Effects of the December 1983 tornado on forest vegetation of the Big Thicket, southeast Texas, USA. Forest Ecology and Management, 25, 269–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godfrey, C. M., Peterson, C. J. (2014). Estimating enhanced Fujita scale levels based on forest damage severity. Preprints, Special symposium on Severe local storms: The current state of the science and understanding impacts. American Meteorological Society Annual meeting, Atlanta

    Google Scholar 

  • Goetz, S. J., Bond-Lamberty, B., Law, B. E., Hicke, J. A., Huang, C., Houghton, R. A., McNulty, S., O’Halloran, T., Harmon, M., Meddens, A. J. H., Pfeifer, E. M., Mildrexler, D., & Kasischke, E. S. (2012). Observations and assessment of forest carbon dynamics following disturbance in North America. Journal of Geophysical Research, 117, G02022. doi:10.1029/2011JG001733.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, C. H., & McNab, W. H. (1998). Forest disturbance in hurricane-related downbursts in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. Forest Ecology and Management, 104, 179–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gresham, C. A., Williams, T. M., & Lipscomb, D. J. (1991). Hurricane Hugo wind damage to southeastern U.S. coastal forest tree species. Biotropica, 23, 420–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grinsted, A., Moore, J. C., & Jevrejeva, S. (2013). Projected Atlantic hurricane surge threat from rising temperatures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110, 5369–5773.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harcombe, P. A., Mann Leipzig, L. E., & Elsik, I. S. (2009). Effects of Hurricane Rita on three long-term forest study plots in East Texas, USA. Wetlands, 29, 88–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrington, T. B., & Bluhm, A. A. (2001). Tree regeneration responses to microsite characteristics following a severe tornado in the Georgia Piedmont, USA. Forest Ecology and Management, 140, 265–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Held, M. E., & Bryant, W. S. (1989). Recovery in a tornado-damaged hardwood forest in northern Kentucky. Transactions of the Kentucky Academy of Science, 50, 16–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Held, M. E., & Winstead, J. E. (1976). Structure and composition of a climax forest system in Boone County, Kentucky. Transactions of the Kentucky Academy of Science, 37, 57–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Held, M. E., Jones-Held, S., & Winstead, J. E. (1998). Forest community structure and tornado damage in an old-growth system in northern Kentucky. Castanea, 63, 474–481.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holzmueller, E. J., Gibson, D. J., & Suchecki, P. F. (2012). Accelerated succession following an intense wind storm in an oak-dominated forest. Forest Ecology and Management, 279, 141–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hook, D. J., Buford, M. A., & Williams, T. M. (1991). Impact of Hurricane Hugo on the South Carolina coastal plain forest. Journal of Coastal Research, 8, 291–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, J. (1995). Notes on the Adirondack blowdown of July 15th, 1995. Wildlands Conservation Society Working Paper No. 5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karstens, C. D., Gallus, W. A., Lee, B. D., & Finley, C. A. (2013). Analysis of tornado-induced tree fall using aerial photography from the Joplin, Missouri, and Tuscaloosa-Birmingham, Alabama, tornadoes of 2011. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 52, 1049–1068.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kasischke, E. S., Amiro, B. D., Barger, N. N., French, N. H., Goetz, S. J., Grosse, G., Harmon, M. E., Hicke, J. A., Liu, S., & Masek, J. G. (2013). Impacts of disturbance on the terrestrial carbon budget of North America. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences, 118, 303–316.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kemp, S. (2010). Mighty mountain waves. Smokies Life, 4, 22–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kribel, J. R. G., & Ware, S. (2014). Hurricane-caused tree loss on permanent plots in a temperate hardwoods forest. Castanea, 79, 1–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kupfer, J. A., Myers, A. T., McLane, S. E., & Melton, G. N. (2008). Patterns of forest damage in a southern Mississippi landscape caused by Hurricane Katrina. Ecosystems, 11, 45–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurz, W. A., Stinson, G., Rampley, G. J., Dymond, C. C., & Neilson, E. T. (2008). Risk of natural disturbances makes future contribution of Canada’s forests to the global carbon cycle highly uncertain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105, 1551–1555.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laing, J. M., Shear, T. H., & Blazich, F. A. (2011). How management strategies have affected Atlantic white-cedar forest recovery after massive wind damage in the Great Dismal Swamp. Forest Ecology and Management, 262, 1337–1344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang, K. D., Schulte, L. A., & Guntenspergen, G. R. (2009). Windthrow and salvage logging in an old-growth hemlock-northern hardwoods forest. Forest Ecology and Management, 259, 56–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Landsea, C. (2014). Frequently asked questions. NOAA Hurricane Research Division website. http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/tcfaqHED.html. Accessed 30 Jun 2014.

  • Leach, A. D. (2003). Influence of microsite and salvage logging on post-windthrow recovery in three southeastern US forests. Thesis, University of Georgia, Athens

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, J., Powell, T. L., Seiler, T. J., Johnson, D. P., Anderson, H. P., Bracho, R., Hungate, B. A., Hinkle, C. R., & Drake, B. G. (2007). Impacts of Hurricane Frances on Florida scrub-oak ecosystem processes: Defoliation, net CO2 exchange and interactions with elevated CO2. Global Change Biology, 13, 1101–1113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malamud, B. D., & Turcotte, D. L. (2012). Statistics of severe tornadoes and severe tornado outbreaks. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 12, 8459–8473.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Matlack, G. R., Gleeson, S. K., & Good, R. E. (1993). Treefall in a mixed oak-pine coastal plain forest: Immediate and historical causation. Ecology, 74, 1559–1566.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNab, W. H., Greenberg, C. H., & Berg, E. C. (2004). Landscape distribution and characteristics of large hurricane-related canopy gaps in a southern Appalachian watershed. Forest Ecology and Management, 196, 435–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millikin, C. S., & Bowden, R. D. (1996). Soil respiration in pits and mounds following an experimental forest blowdown. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 60, 1951–1953.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, T. W., & Dixon, R. W. (2011). Climatology of tornadoes associated with Gulf Coast-landfalling hurricanes. Geographical Review, 101, 371–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moser, W. K., & Nelson, M. D. (2009). Windstorm damage in Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (Minnesota, USA): Evaluating landscape-level risk factors. Baltic Forestry, 15, 248–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Myster, R. W., & Malahy, M. P. (2010). Tornado effects on damage, resprouting and spatial heterogeneity in the cross timbers ecotone of Oklahoma, USA. Journal of Plant Ecology, 3, 157–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Negron-Juarez, R., Baker, D. B., Chambers, J. Q., Hurtt, G. C., & Goosem, S. (2014). Multi-scale sensitivity of Landsat and MODIS to forest disturbance associated with tropical cyclones. Remote Sensing of Environment, 140, 679–689.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, J. L., Groninger, J. W., Battaglia, L. L., & Ruffner, C. M. (2008). Bottomland hardwood forest vegetation and soils recovery following a tornado and salvage logging. Forest Ecology and Management, 256, 388–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NOAA/NCDC (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Climatic Data Center). (Undated a). Hurricanes. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/severeweather/hur5004sm.jpg. Accessed 10 Dec 2014.

  • NOAA/NCDC (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Climatic Data Center). (Undated b). US Tornado climatology. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-information/extreme-events/us-tornado-climatology. Accessed 10 Dec 2014.

  • Oswalt, S. N., & Oswalt, C. M. (2008). Relationships between common forest metrics and realized impacts of Hurricane Katrina on forest resources in Mississippi. Forest Ecology and Management, 255, 1692–1700.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, M. W., McAlister, S. D., Arévalo, J. R., & DeCoster, J. K. (2000). Changes in the understory during 14 years following catastrophic windthrow in two Minnesota forests. Journal of Vegetation Science, 11, 841–854.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perera, A. H., Buse, L. J., & Weber, M. G. (Eds.). (2004). Emulating natural forest landscape disturbances: Concepts and applications. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C. J. (2000). Damage and recovery of tree species after two different tornadoes in the same old-growth forest: a comparison of infrequent wind disturbances. Forest Ecology and Management, 35, 237–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C. J. (2004). Within-stand variation in windthrow in southern boreal forests of Minnesota: Is it predictable? Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 34, 365–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C. J. (2007). Consistent influence of tree diameter and species on damage in nine eastern North America tornado blowdowns. Forest Ecology and Management, 250, 96–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C. J., & Godfrey, C. M. (2014). Side-by-side tree and house damage in the May 2013 Moore, OK EF5 tornado: Lessons for the enhanced Fujita scale. Preprints, special symposium on severe local storms: The current state of the science and understanding impacts. Atlanta: American Meteorological Society Annual Conference.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C. J., & Leach, A. D. (2008a). Limited salvage logging effects on forest regeneration after moderate-severity windthrow. Ecological Applications, 18, 407–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C. J., & Leach, A. D. (2008b). Salvage logging after windthrow alters microsite diversity, abundance and environment, but not vegetation. Forestry, 81, 361–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C. J., & Pickett, S. T. A. (1991). Treefall and resprouting following catastrophic windthrow in an old growth hemlock-hardwoods forest. Forest Ecology and Management, 42, 205–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C. J., & Pickett, S. T. A. (1995). Forest reorganization: A case study in an old-growth forest catastrophic blowdown. Ecology, 76, 763–774.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C. J., & Rebertus, A. J. (1997). Tornado damage and initial recovery in three adjacent, lowland temperate forests in Missouri. Journal of Vegetation Science, 8, 559–564.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C. J., Carson, W. P., McCarthy, B. C., & Pickett, S. T. A. (1990). Microsite variation and soil dynamics within newly created treefall pits and mounds. Oikos, 58, 39–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C. J., Krueger, L. M., Royo, A. A., Stark, S., & Carson, W. P. (2013). Disturbance size and severity covary in small and mid-size wind disturbances in Pennsylvania northern hardwoods forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 302, 273–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, J. D., Marion, D. A., & Turkington, A. V. (2008). Pedologic and geomorphic impacts of a tornado blowdown event in a mixed pine-hardwood forest. Catena, 75, 278–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Platt, W. J., Doren, R. F., & Armentano, T. V. (2000). Effects of Hurricane Andrew on stands of slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. densa) in the everglades region of South Florida (USA). Plant Ecology, 146, 43–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prengaman, K. A., Kribel, J. R. G., & Ware, S. (2008). Effects of Hurricane Isabel on a maturing hardwood forest in the virginia coastal plain. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, 135, 360–366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putz, F. E., & Sharitz, R. R. (1991). Hurricane damage to old-growth forest in Congaree Swamp National Monument, South Carolina, USA. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 21, 1765–1770.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rauber, R. M., Walsh, J. E., & Charlevoix, D. J. (2002). Severe and hazardous weather. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rebertus, A. J., & Meier, A. J. (2001). Blowdown dynamics in oak-hickory forests of the Missouri Ozarks. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, 128, 362–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rentch, J. S. (2010). Relationship between treefall direction, slope-aspect, and wind in eight oldgrowth oak stands in the central hardwood forest, USA. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, 137, 391–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rich, R. L., Frelich, L. E., & Reich, P. B. (2007). Wind-throw mortality in the southern boreal forest: Effects of species, diameter and stand age. Journal of Ecology, 95, 1261–1273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, G., & Zappieri, J. (1999). Conservation policy in time and space: Lessons from divergent approaches to salvage logging on public lands. Conservation Ecology, 3, 3 [online].

    Google Scholar 

  • Romme, W. H., & Martin, W. H. (1982). Natural disturbance by tree falls in old-growth mixed mesophytic forest: Lilley Cornett Woods, Kentucky. In R. N. Muller (Ed.), Proceedings 16th Central Hardwood Forest Conference. Lexington: Univ of Kentucky Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaetzl, R. J., Burns, S. F., Johnson, D. L., & Small, T. W. (1989). Tree uprooting: Review of impacts on forest ecology. Vegetatio, 79, 165–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sobhani, V. M., Barrett, M., & Peterson, C. J. (2014). Robust prediction of treefall pit and mound sizes from tree size across 10 forest blowdowns in eastern North America. Ecosystems, 17, 837–850.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stanturf, J. A., Goodrick, S. L., & Outcalt, K. W. (2007). Disturbance and coastal forests: A strategic approach to forest management in hurricane impact zones. Forest Ecology and Management, 250, 119–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suckling, P. W., & Ashley, W. S. (2006). Spatial and temporal characteristics of tornado path direction. The Professional Geographer, 58, 20–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thurig, E., Palusuo, T., Bucher, J., & Kaufmann, E. (2005). The impact of windthrow on carbon sequestration in Switzerland: A model-based assessment. Forest Ecology and Management, 210, 337–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trapp, R. J., Diffenbaugh, N. S., Brooks, H. E., Baldwin, M. E., Robinson, E. D., & Pal, J. S. (2007). Changes in severe thunderstorm environment frequency during the 21st century caused by anthropogenically enhanced global radiative forcing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104, 19719–19723.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, M. G., Hargrove, W. W., Gardner, R. G., & Romme, W. H. (1994). Effects of fire on landscape heterogeneity in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Journal of Vegetation Science, 5, 731–742.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vargas, R., & Allen, M. F. (2008). Diel patterns of soil respiration in a tropical forest after hurricane Wilma. Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, G03021. doi:10.1029/2007JG00620.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Webb, S. L. (1999). Disturbance by wind in temperate-zone forests. In L. R. Walker (Ed.), Ecosystems of disturbed ground. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, P. S. (1979). Pattern, process, and natural disturbance in vegetation. The Botanical Review, 45, 229–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WSEC. (2006). A recommendation for an enhanced Fujita scale (EF-scale). Lubbock: Wind Science and Engineering Center, Texas Tech University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wurman, J., Kosiba, L., & Robinson, P. (2013). In situ, Doppler radar, and video observations of the interior structure of a tornado and the wind – damage relationship. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 94, 835–846.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xi, W., & Peet, R. K. (2011). The complexity of catastrophic wind impacts on temperate forests. In A. Lupo (Ed.), Recent hurricane research: Climate, dynamics, and societal impacts. Vienna: InTech.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xi, W., Peet, R. K., Decoster, J. K., & Urban, D. L. (2008a). Tree damage risk factors associated with large, infrequent wind disturbances of Carolina forests. Forestry, 81, 317–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xi, W., Peet, R. K., & Urban, D. L. (2008b). Changes in forest structure, species diversity and spatial pattern following hurricane disturbance in a Piedmont North Carolina forest, USA. Journal of Plant Ecology, 1, 43–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeng, H., Chambers, J. Q., Negron-Juarez, R. I., Hurtt, G. C., Baker, D. B., & Powell, M. D. (2009). Impacts of tropical cyclones on US forest tree mortality and carbon flux from 1851 to 2000. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106, 7888–7892.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Much of our recent work was sponsored by grants AGS-1141926 and DEB-1143511 from the Physical and Dynamic Meteorology, and Population and Community Ecology programs of the National Science Foundation; earlier funding came from a cooperative agreement between University of Georgia and the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station. For some of this work, JBC was supported by a Climate Change Youth Initiative fellowship from the National Park Service. We thank the many field assistants over >20 years whose labor in difficult conditions provided the raw data for some of the trends reported here. Tornado track widths were laboriously measured on the aerial photos by Michael Bailey, Somer Rowe, and Tiffany Erickson.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, 2502 Miller Plant Science Building, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Chris J. Peterson & Jeffery B. Cannon

  2. Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of North Carolina at Asheville, 231 Robinson Hall, Asheville, NC, 28804, USA

    Christopher M. Godfrey

Authors
  1. Chris J. Peterson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jeffery B. Cannon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Christopher M. Godfrey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chris J. Peterson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Bent Creek Experimental Forest, Asheville, North Carolina, USA

    Cathryn H. Greenberg

  2. Biology Department, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina, USA

    Beverly S. Collins

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Peterson, C.J., Cannon, J.B., Godfrey, C.M. (2016). First Steps Toward Defining the Wind Disturbance Regime in Central Hardwoods Forests. In: Greenberg, C., Collins, B. (eds) Natural Disturbances and Historic Range of Variation. Managing Forest Ecosystems, vol 32. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21527-3_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation