Landscape-level variation in forest response to hurricane disturbance across a storm track

Abstract

Hurricane wind speeds at a given site are related to the intensity of the storm and the distance and direction from the storm center. As a result, forest damage is expected to vary predictably with respect to location relative to the storm track. To determine whether patterns of forest response along the track of a major hurricane in coastal New England were consistent with the expected patterns of wind damage, we investigated tree growth responses to the storm in several study sites that are similar with respect to site conditions, vegetation, and disturbance history. Growth responses to a severe hurricane in 1944 varied predictably among study sites with respect to distance from the storm track. Sites closest to the storm track experienced lesser wind damage and exhibited minimal growth responses, whereas sites farther east of the storm track and closer to the area of maximum estimated wind speed were characterized by greater wind damage and growth changes. Variation in estimated wind speed among our study sites (5–10 m/s) is not much greater than anticipated increases in hurricane intensity predicted under future climate scenarios (3–7 m/s). Thus, our results suggest that the magnitude of anticipated increases in wind speeds associated with Atlantic hurricanes may be sufficient to cause changes in forest response.