2007 Volume 89 Issue 5 Pages 321-328
We analyzed data from three typhoons to characterize typhoon damage in a lucidophyllous forest at the Aya Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) Site located in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. We calculated the percent damage, Rdamage, as the percentage of snapped or uprooted stems relative to the pre-typhoon number of living stems. Multiple regression using wind intensity (i.e., wind velocity squared), years since the previous disturbance, and the spatial distribution of stems as explanatory variables indicated that for five species, Rdamage could be explained by wind intensity alone. The wind intensity and Rdamage regression differed significantly among the five species. Standardized regression coefficients indicated that wind intensity had the strongest effect on Rdamage for most species, although other factors were effective explanatory variables in some species. The proportion of snapped stems was large, regardless of species or typhoon. We identified three characteristics of typhoon damage: species-specific resistance to typhoon disturbance (e.g., high in Distylium racemosum; low in Persea thunbergii), interspecific differences in factors affecting damage, and site effects on the percentage of snapped stems. LTER sites are valuable for evaluating the responses of forests to rare events.
