Abstract
We investigated tree population dynamics over a period of 10 years in a warm-temperate evergreen broadleaved secondary forest established on steep topography to examine the effects of topographic position and coppice-stand structure on typhoon damage to trees. All species in this site showed a higher proportion of direct typhoon damage such as snapped or uprooted stems on the lower slope than other slope positions, suggesting that vegetation on the lower slope is more likely to suffer from typhoon damage, probably due to low stability of the soil surface. This effect is considered to be a factor determining the low tree density on the lower slope. While the proportion of snapped or uprooted stems in the canopy layer was high, it was even higher in the understory, indicating that the type of typhoon damage differed between layer positions. Differences in typhoon damage between the major component species at this site were consistent with previous studies in old-growth forest. Moreover, differences in typhoon damages between four out of the five main species were not influenced by topographic position and coppice-stand structure; rather, they directly reflected species-specific factors related to resistance to typhoon damage, such as wood density.
