Urban Forest Hurricane Recovery Program

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Urban Forest Hurricane Recovery Program
http//treesandhurricanes.ifas.ufl.edu
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Selecting Tropical and Subtropical Tree Species
for Wind Resistance
Eliana Kampf Mary Duryea
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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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Results
Hurricane Charley (145 mph)
areca palm
manila palm
bald cypress
washingtonia
sabal palm
pigmy date
Senegal date
gumbo limbo
royal palm
sea grape
laurel oak
strangler fig
SFL slash pine
live oak
camphor
coconut palm
100
citrus
Norfolk I. pine
queen palm
90
longleaf pine
black olive
80
Australian pine
70
melaleuca
60
50
Survival ()
40
LSD30
30
20
10
0
Tree species
Invasive, not recommended by IFAS
Prohibited in Florida Caution manage to
prevent escape
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Results
Hurricane Charley (145 mph)
melaleuca
strangler fig
laurel oak
60
longleaf pine
live oak
Australian pine
Norfolk Is. pine
50
camphor
gumbo limbo
sea grape
S.FL slash pine
40
black olive
Branches Lost (Mean )
bald cypress
30
20
LSD32
citrus
10
0
Tree species
Invasive, not recommended by IFAS Prohibited
in Florida
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Results
Hurricane Charley (145 mph)
Senegal date
pigmy date
areca palm
manila palm
bald cypress
sabal palm
washingtonia
royal palm
100
coconut palm
90
queen palm
citrus
gumbo limbo
80
sea grape
S.FL slash pine
Norfolk Is. pine
70
camphor
laurel oak
Survival (Recalculated) ()
60
live oak
black olive
Australian pine
50
longleaf pine
strangler fig
40
LSD20
30
melaleuca
20
10
0
Tree species
Invasive, not recommended by IFAS
Prohibited in Florida Caution manage to
prevent escape
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Dicots
Gumbo Limbo
Black olive
89 survival in Charley 84 survival in Andrew
57 survival in Charley 68 survival in Andrew
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Oaks in North FL
Dicots
100
80
60
Survival ()
40
Plt0.001
20
0
Erin
Dennis
Opal
Ivan
(85 mph)
(120 mph)
(125 mph)
(130 mph)
Sand live oak
Live oak
Laurel
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Oaks in South FL
Dicots
No statistical difference for Jeanne and Charley

• survival
• branch loss
• re-calculated survival

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Palms
Usually more resistant to winds than dicots
Charley 88 palms vs. 77 others Jeanne 86
palms vs. 76 others
Sabal, Manila, areca and pigmy date palms had
89 survival after hurricanes Charley, Jeanne,
Georges and Andrew
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Palms
Wind Speed (mph)
100
80
60
Survival ()
40
20
0
Queen
Sabal
Royal
Washington
Coconut
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Conifers
Bald cypress
Sand pine
Charley 95 survival
Jeanne only 4 survival Erin 61 survival
Opal 58 survival
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Conifers
S. FL slash pine
Longleaf pine
Charley 57 survival Ivan 59 survival Erin
90 survival Opal 94 survival
Jeanne 90 survival Charley 79
survival Andrew 73 survival
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Conifers
Continue to die after hurricanes
S. FL slash lost an additional 27 Longleaf
lost an additional 48
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Native vs. Exotic Trees
100
NS
NS


80



60
Survival ()
40
20
0
Jeanne
Andrew
Charley
Georges
Hurricane
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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

statistically significant
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• Highest Wind Resistance
• Dicots
• Bursera simaruba, gumbo limbo
• Carya floridana, FL scrub hickory
• Conocarpus erectus, buttonwood
• Chrysobalanus icaco, cocoplum
• Cordia sebestena, geiger tree
• Eugenia axillaris, white stopper
• Eugenia confusa, redberry
• Eugenia foetida, boxleaf stopper
• Ilex cassine, dahoon holly
• Krugiodendron ferreum, ironwood
• Lagerstroemia indica, crape myrtle
• Podocarpus spp, podocarpus
• Guaiacum sanctum, lignum vitae
• Magnolia grandiflora, southern magnolia
• Quercus virginiana, live oak
• Quercus geminata, sand live oak
• Conifers

Medium-High Wind Resistance Dicots Annona glabra,
pond apple Calophyllum calaba, Brazilian
beautyleafc Chrysophyllum oliviforme,
satinleaf Coccoloba uvifera, sea grape Coccoloba
diversifolia, pigeon plum Liquidambar
styraciflua, sweetgum Lysiloma latsiliquum, wild
tamarind Magnolia virginiana, sweetbay
magnolia Nyssa sylvatica, black
tupelo Sideroxylon foetidissimum,
mastic Simarouba glauca, paradise tree Swietenia
mahagoni, mahogany Palms Caryota mitis,
fishtail Cocos nucifera, coconut Dypsis decaryi,
triangle Roystonea elata, royal Fruit
Trees Litchi chinensis, lychee
Phoenix dactylifera, date Phoenix reclinata,
Senegal dateb Phoenix roebelenii, pygmy
date Ptychosperma elegans, Alexander Sabal
palmetto, cabbage Thrinax morrisii, key
thatch Thrinax radiata, Florida thatch Adonidia
merrillii, Manila
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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Lowest Wind Resistance Dicots Casuarina
equisetifolia, Australian pinea Cassia fistula,
golden shower Chorisia speciosa, floss-silk
tree Ficus benjamina, weeping banyan Grevillea
robusta, silk oak Jacaranda mimosifolia,
jacaranda Melaleuca quinquenervia,
melaleucaa Quercus nigra, water oak Peltophorum
pterocarpa, yellow poinciana Prunus caroliniana,
Carolina laurelcherry Sapium sebiferum, Chinese
tallowa Spathodea campanulata, African
tuliptree Tabebuia caraiba, silver trumpet
tree Ulmus parvifolia, Chinese elm Conifers Arauca
ria heterophylla, Norfolk Island
pine xCupressocyparis leylandii, leyland
cypress Juniperus silicicola, southern red
cedar Pinus clausa, sand pine Palms Syagrus
romanzoffiana, queenc Washingtonia robusta,
Washington fan Fruit Trees Persea americana,
avocado

• Medium-Low Wind Resistance
• Dicots
• Acer rubrum, red maple
• Bauhinia blakeana, Hong-Kong orchid
• Bucidas buceras, black olive
• Callistemon spp, bottlebrush
• Cinnamomum camphora, camphorb
• Delonix regia, royal poincianac
• Enterolobium cyclocarpum, ear tree
• Eriobotrya japonica, loquatc
• Ficus aurea, strangler fig
• Kigelia pinnata, sausage tree
• Eucalyptus cinera, silverdollar eucalyptus
• Quercus laurifolia, laurel oak
• Myrica cerifera, wax myrtle
• Persea borbonia, redbay
• Platanus occidentalis, sycamore
• Tabebuia heterophylla, pink trumpet tree
• Terminalia catappa, tropical almondc

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