Urban Forest Hurricane
Recovery Program
http://treesandhurricanes.ifas.ufl.edu
Selecting
Wind Resistant
Trees:
Coastal Plain Species
Mary Duryea
Eliana Kampf
•
•
•
•
•
Study
Methodology
Results
Lists of wind resistance
Recommendations for a
healthy urban forest
Hurricanes Measured in Study
Funding: FL DOT and DOF, USDA Forest Service
Georgia
Alabama
Mississippi
Louisiana
Rita
120 mph
2005
Puerto Rico
Katrina
125 mph
2005
Georges
110 mph
1998
Ivan
130 mph
2004
Erin
85 mph
1995
Opal
125 mph
1995
Dennis
120 mph
2005
Florida
Charley
145 mph
2004
Jeanne
120 mph
2004
Andrew
165 mph
1992
• SE Coastal Plain
• Subtropical
& Tropical
Methodology
• Urban neighborhoods randomly chosen
•
•
•
•
at point of landfall
All trees along streets were measured
Standing, leaning or fallen
Measured dbh, height for palms
Defoliation, branch damage
Wind and Trees Survey
• Surveyed 240 arborists, urban foresters,
•
forest scientists
Asked them to rank 160 tree species for
wind resistance
Results
100
Hurricane Ivan
(130 mph)
90
Survival (%)
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Tree Species
* prohibited species in Florida
Average Branch Loss (%)
35
Results
30
Hurricane Ivan
(130 mph)
25
20
15
10
5
0
Tree species
* prohibited species in Florida
Large trees do more
poorly than small
trees
Branch Loss ( %)
35
30
39-79 in.
25
20-39 in.
8-19 in.
20
< 8 in.
15
10
5
0
Tree Diameter
Results
Survival (Recalculated) (%)
100
Hurricane Ivan
(130 mph)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Tree Species
* prohibited species in Florida
Laurel Oak
• Rapid growing, short lived
(mature at 50 yr)
• Light wood (0.56 g/cm3)
• Damaging when it falls
Survival of Oaks in North FL
Survival (%)
100
80
60
40
20
0
Erin
(85 mph)
Dennis
(120 mph)
Opal
(125 mph)
Hurricane
Sand live oak
Live oak
Laurel
Ivan
(130 mph)
Survival (%)
100
80
Erin
Jeanne
Opal
Ivan
60
Charley Andrew
40
20
0
92%
85
120 125
93%
130 145 165
Wind Speed (mph)
Sabal Palm
Southern Magnolia
• 96%, 97%, 92%
standing after
Erin, Opal, Ivan
• Excellent
survival rate
even though it
lost about 43%
of its leaves
Southern Red Cedar
100
Survival (%)
80
60
40
20
0
Erin
85
Dennis
Opal
Ivan
120
125
130
Wind Speed (mph)
Pines
Slash Pine
Survival after Hurricanes (%)
100
80
Erin
Jeanne
Longleaf Pine
Opal
Ivan
60
Opal
Erin
Charley
Andrew
Ivan
40
Charley
20
0
Sand Pine
100
Loblolly Pine
80
60
Opal
Erin
Opal
40
20
0
Ivan
Ivan
Jeanne
85
120 125
130
145 16
5
85 120
Wind Speed
125
130
145 165
Pines
• Dangerous to have large trees close to buildings
• Medium to Poor wind resistance:
• Longleaf & Slash > Loblolly > Sand & Spruce pine
• Continue to die after hurricanes:
• Ivan (130 mph): Lost an additional 2-3%
• Charley (145 mph): Lost an additional 50%
Live Oak
Strong wood – 0.8 g/cm3
Species with higher wood density survived better
and lost less branches (p<0.0001)
Defoliates early –
Leaf loss was positively
correlated with survival
(p<0.0001)
Strong roots
Native vs. Exotic Trees
Survival (%)
100
80
****
NS
****
60
40
20
0
Native species
Exotic species
Jeanne
Ivan
Hurricane
Charley
Lists of Wind Resistance
• 85 surveys (35%) were returned
• Combining:
• our study results
• survey
• scientific literature
Wind and Trees Survey – Results
Wind Resistance
Scientific Name
High
Common Name

Medium
Low
#
%
#
%
#
%
Total
#
Liquidambar styraciflua
sweetgum
18
43
21
50
3
7
42
Magnolia grandiflora
SE magnolia
44
83
8
15
1
2
53
Pinus clausa
sand pine
3
7
7
17
32
76
42
Pinus palustris
longleaf pine
23
59
11
28
5
13
39
Pinus elliottii
slash pine
16
26
35
57
10
16
61
Quercus laurifolia
laurel oak
3
4
26
39
38
57
67
Quercus virginiana
live oak
63
89
8
11
0
0
71
Sabal palmetto
sabal palm
71
99
1
1
0
0
72
Phoenix canariensis
Canary Island
date palm
49
89
4
7
2
4
55
Taxodium distichum
bald cypress
59
91
6
9
0
0
65
Taxodium ascendens
pond cypress
40
91
4
9
0
44
0
Highest Wind Resistance
Dicots
Carya floridana, FL scrub hickory
Cornus florida, dogwood
Ilex cassine, dahoon holly
Ilex glabra, inkberry
Ilex opaca, American holly
Ilex vomitoria, yaupon holly
Lagerstroemia indica, crape myrtle
Magnolia grandiflora, southern magnolia
Quercus geminata, sand live oak
Quercus laevis, turkey oak
Quercus myrtifolia, myrtle oak
Quercus virginiana, live oak
Podocarpus spp, podocarpus
Vaccinium arboreum, sparkleberry
Conifers
Taxodium distichum, baldcypress
Taxodium ascendens, pondcypress
Palms
Butia capitata, pindo or jelly
Phoenix canariensis, Canary Island date
Phoenix dactylifera, date
Sabal palmetto, cabbage, sabal
Medium-High Wind Resistance
Dicots
Acer saccharum subsp. floridanum, FL sugar
maple
Acer palmatum, Japanese maple
Betula nigra, river birch
Carpinus caroliniana, ironwood
Carya glabra, pignut hickory
Carya tomentosa, mockernut hickory
Cercis canadensis, red bud
Chionanthus virginicus, fringe tree
Diospyros virginiana, common persimmon
Fraxinus americana, white ash
Liquidambar styraciflua, sweetgum
Magnolia virginiana, sweetbay magnolia
Magnolia xsoulangiana, saucer magnolia
Nyssa aquatica, water tupelo
Nyssa sylvatica, black tupelo
Ostrya virginiana, American hophornbean
Prunus angustifolia, chickasaw plum
Quercus michauxii, swamp chestnut
Quercus shumardii, Shumard oak
Quercus stellata, post oak
Ulmus alata, winged elm
Palms
Washingtonia robusta, Washington fan
Medium-Low Wind Resistance
Dicots
Acer negundo, boxelder
Acer rubrum, red maple
Acer saccharinum, silver maple
Celtis laevigata, sugarberry
Celtis occidentalis, hackberry
Cinnamomum camphora, camphor *
Eriobotrya japonica, loquat **
Eucalyptus cinera, silverdollar eucalyptus
Fraxinus pennsylvanica, green ash
Morus rubra, red mulberry
Myrica cerifera, wax myrtle
Persea borbonia, redbay
Platanus occidentalis, sycamore
Prunus serotina, black cherry
Quercus alba, white oak
Quercus phellos, willow oak
Salix xsepulcralis, weeping willow
Ulmus americana, American elm
Conifers
Pinus elliottii, slash pine
Pinus palustris, longleaf pine
Pinus taeda, loblolly pine
Lowest Wind Resistance
Dicots
Carya illinoensis, pecan
Liriodendron tulipifera, tulip poplar
Prunus caroliniana, Carolina laurelcherry
Pyrus calleryana, Bradford pear
Quercus falcata, southern red oak
Quercus laurifolia, laurel oak
Quercus nigra, water oak
Sapium sebiferum, Chinese tallow ***
Ulmus parvifolia, Chinese elm
Conifers
Juniperus silicicola, southern red cedar
xCupressocyparis leylandii, Leyland
cypress
Pinus clausa, sand pine
Pinus glabra, spruce pine
*
**
***
Invasive, not recommended by
University of Florida/IFAS
Caution: manage to prevent escape
Prohibited in Florida (Fox et al. 2005)
Recommendations for a healthy urban forest
When Establishing New Trees:
• Consider soil depth, water
depth and compaction
• Give trees adequate aerial
space when mature
• Plant high quality trees
with good structure
• Give trees adequate rooting space:
•
•
small trees - at least 3 x 3 m
large trees - at least 10 x 10 m
• Establish a structural
pruning program early on
• Plant trees from the
highest and medium-high
WR lists
• Plant trees in groups as
opposed to individually
• Plant a mixture
of species, ages
and layers
Recommendations for a healthy urban forest
When Managing Older Trees:
• Remove hazard trees
• Have tree health evaluated
• Prune trees regularly
• Consider removing trees
on the lowest WR list
• Know the life span
of your tree
• Be aware of root damage
during construction
• Consult with a certified arborist or urban forester