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Publication #FOR119

Chapter 8: Selecting Coastal Plain Species for Wind Resistance1

Mary L Duryea and Eliana Kampf2

Abstract

Wind damage to urban trees increases with storm intensity, but not all tree species withstand high winds the same way, making some trees better choices than others for including in coastal landscapes. A team of scientists at the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) studied 10 hurricanes to determine their effect on the urban forest. One of the major goals of this study was to assemble lists of relative wind resistance for different urban tree species to help communities better prepare for future hurricane seasons by selecting proper species. (Chapter 9 reports on tropical and subtropical tree species) This fact sheet presents the research and methodology that lead to these lists of relative wind resistance. It also discusses in detail the results and additional recommendations for selecting and establishing trees for a healthier and more wind-resistant urban forest.

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Footnotes

1.

This document is FOR-119, one of the Urban Forest Hurricane Recovery Program series of the School of Forest Resources and Conservation and the Environmental Horticulture Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date September 2007. Visit the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu and the Urban Forest Hurricane Recovery Program Web site at http://treesandhurricanes.ifas.ufl.edu .

2.

Mary Duryea, Professor, School of Forest Resources and Conservation and Associate Dean for Research, IFAS; Eliana Kampf, Urban Forester, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Gainesville, FL 32611

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Millie Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean.