Urban Forest Hurricane Recovery Program

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Urban Forest Hurricane Recovery Program
http//treesandhurricanes.ifas.ufl.edu
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Selecting Southeastern Coastal Plain Tree
Species for Wind Resistance
Mary Duryea Eliana Kampf
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• Study
• Methodology
• Results
• Lists of wind resistance
• Recommendations for a healthy urban forest

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Hurricanes Measured in Study
Funding FL DOT and DOF, USDA Forest Service
Georgia
Alabama
Mississippi
Louisiana
Florida
Puerto Rico
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• SE Coastal Plain

• Subtropical Tropical

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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

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Wind and Trees Survey

• Surveyed 240 arborists, urban foresters,
  forest scientists
• Asked them to rank 160 tree species for wind
  resistance

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sand live oak
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Results
spruce pine
35
sycamore
SE red oak
laurel oak
Hurricane Ivan (130 mph)
30
SE red cedar
chinese tallow
sweet gum
live oak
pecan
water oak
sand pine
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red maple
C. laurelcherry
black cherry
Average Branch Loss ()
20
SE magnolia
slash pine
Bradford pear
longleaf pine
sand live oak
wax myrtle
15
dogwood
crape myrtle
tulip poplar
loblolly pine
American holly
LSD 11
10
5
0
Tree species
prohibited species in Florida
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Large trees do more poorly than small trees
Branch Loss ( )
P
Tree Diameter
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sand live oak
Results
American holly
100
wax myrtle
SE magnolia
sweet gum
crape myrtle
Hurricane Ivan (130 mph)
dogwood
live oak
sabal palm
90
slash pine
pecan
Bradford pear
80
red maple
laurel oak
water oak
loblolly pine
black cherry
70
chinese tallow
longleaf pine
sycamore
60
SE red oak
SE red cedar
Survival (Recalculated) ()
sand pine
C. laurelcherry
50
spruce pine
40
tulip poplar
LSD 25
30
20
10
0
Tree Species
prohibited species in Florida
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Laurel Oak

• Rapid growing, short lived (mature at 50 yr)
• Light wood (0.56 g/cm3)
• Damaging when it falls

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Survival of Oaks in North FL
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Sabal Palm
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Southern Magnolia

• 96, 97, 92 standing after Erin, Opal, Ivan
• Excellent survival rate even though it lost about
  43 of its leaves

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Southern Red Cedar
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Pines
Longleaf Pine
Survival after Hurricanes ()
Loblolly Pine
165
Wind Speed
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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

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Live Oak
Strong wood 0.8 g/cm3 Species with higher wood
density survived better and lost less branches
(p
Defoliates early Leaf loss was positively
correlated with survival (p
Strong roots
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Native vs. Exotic Trees
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Lists of Wind Resistance

• 85 surveys (35) were returned
• Combining
• our study results
• survey
• scientific literature

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Wind and Trees Survey Results

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• 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 ascendens, pondcypress
• Taxodium distichum, baldcypress

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
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Medium-Low Wind Resistance Dicots Acer negundo,
boxelder Acer rubrum, red maple Acer saccharinum,
silver maple Celtis laevigata, sugarberry Celtis
occidentalis, hackberry Cinnamomum camphora,
camphorb Eriobotrya japonica, loquatc Eucalyptus
cinerea, 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
x sepulcralis, 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 tallowa Ulmus
parvifolia, Chinese elm Conifers Juniperus
silicicola, southern red cedar x Cupressocyparis
leylandii, Leyland cypress Pinus clausa, sand
pine Pinus glabra, spruce pine Palms Washingtonia
robusta, Washington fan
a Prohibited in Florida b Invasive and
not recommended in Florida c Caution may be
used but must be managed to prevent
escape in Florida (Fox et al. 2005)
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Recommendations for a healthy urban forest
When Establishing New Trees

• Establish a structural pruning program early
  on

• Consider soil depth, water depth and
  compaction

• Plant trees from the highest and medium-high
  WR lists

• Give trees adequate aerial space when mature

• Plant high quality trees with good structure

• Plant trees in groups as opposed to
  individually

• Plant a mixture of species, ages and layers

• Give trees adequate rooting space
• small trees - at least 3 x 3 m
• large trees - at least 10 x 10 m

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Recommendations for a healthy urban forest
When Managing Older Trees

• Consider removing trees on the lowest WR list

• Remove hazard trees

• Know the life span of your tree

• Have tree health evaluated

• Be aware of root damage during construction

• Prune trees regularly

• Consult with a certified arborist or urban
  forester