The vast majority of trees can survive a hurricane even after severe damage if they are grown in storm-prone areas. In this respect informs Clemson University.
Hurricane Maria struck Dominica (an island near Australia) on September 18, 2017, with wind speeds exceeding 250 km/h, a record gust in observing history. In this context, Saara DeWalt and her colleagues were tasked with analyzing the damage done to nature and forestry. The scientists’ first impression as they flew over the forest in an airplane were matchstick-like trees with broken branches, so they expected catastrophic destruction.
But when the researchers entered the forests and took a closer look at the trees, they found that 89% of the trees were damaged, of which 76% were severe, but only 10% were completely destroyed.
“These storm-prone forests are incredibly resilient to even very strong storms in many ways. I don’t want to underestimate the extent of the damage done to these forests – it was huge – but the survivability of 90% of the trees is indicative of an impressive level of resilience.”
They found that the most common types of damage were trunk breakage (40% of trees) and severe damage to branches (26% of trees), but the most common types of damage were uprooting and crushing by a neighboring tree. 33% of uprooted trees and 47% of crushed trees died.
At the same time, the death of large and old trees is certainly not a bad thing, as they are home to many animal species.
ancient biologists approvedthat the moths’ “tails” act as decoys for bats.