Characteristics of Large-scale Typhoon Damages to Major Tree Species in Tadasu-No-Mori Forest, Shimogamo-Jinja Shrine

Abstract

We investigated the effects of large-scale typhoons on the main tree species in a mature urban forest, Tadasu-No-Mori Forest, Shimogamo-Jinja Shrine. As a result, 284 trees of 25 species were directly damaged by the typhoons. Of the trees that survived when the typhoons occurred, the ratio of trees directly affected by the typhoons was 39.6% for Lithocarpus glaber and was 23.8% for Castanopsis spp., respectively. Typhoon direct damages were seen in 10.4% to 14.9% for Aphananthe aspera, Celtis sinensis and Zelkova serrata, the dominant tree species in the canopy layer. On the other hand, there was little direct typhoon damage in Cinnamomum camphora trees (5.5%). Trees with tall height or with large diameters tended to be affected by typhoons directly for most main tree species. Many uprooted trees were observed in Quercus myrsinifolia and C. sinensis. A large number of stem breakage trees were seen in L. glaber and C. spp.. Most main tree species tended to be more severely affected by typhoons under the condition that the density of neighborhood trees was low. This result suggests that forest management with high tree stand density is effective in avoiding human damage caused by fallen trees in urban forest.