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Updated: Aug 14, 2025
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Laboratory and Field Protocol for Estimating Sheet Erosion Rates from Dendrogeomorphology
Published on: January 7, 2019
7.8K
Hillslope roughness reveals forest sensitivity to extreme winds
Tyler H Doane1, Brian J Yanites1, Douglas A Edmonds1
1Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington IN 47405.
Summary
Windthrow, the uprooting of trees by wind, is hard to study directly. Researchers used hillslope roughness as a proxy to understand windthrow events and their impact on forests.
Area of Science:
- Forestry science
- Geomorphology
- Climate change impacts
Background:
- Windthrow is a natural forest disturbance with significant ecological impacts.
- Direct observation of windthrow is rare due to infrequent extreme wind events.
- Understanding windthrow dynamics is crucial for forest management and climate change adaptation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel method for reconstructing past windthrow events.
- To investigate the relationship between wind speed and windthrow frequency.
- To assess the potential of using geomorphic data to infer historical wind climate.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing hillslope topographic roughness as a proxy for windthrow occurrence.
- Developing a probability function linking annual windthrow events to maximum wind speed.
- Analyzing the geomorphic record to reconstruct disturbance history.
Main Results:
- The study presents a new approach to quantify windthrow based on topographic roughness.
- Established a probability function for annual windthrow events related to wind speed.
- Demonstrated that slight shifts in extreme wind speeds can significantly alter windthrow rates.
Conclusions:
- Hillslope topographic roughness serves as a valuable proxy for reconstructing windthrow history.
- The findings provide insights into forest resilience and adaptation to changing wind climates.
- Topographic roughness can act as an archive for extreme wind speed events.
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