Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Landscape and Regional Impacts of Hurricanes in New England

2001; Wiley; Volume: 71; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/3100043

1557-7015

Emery R. Boose, Kristen E. Chamberlin, David R. Foster,

Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research

Ecological MonographsVolume 71, Issue 1 p. 27-48 Article LANDSCAPE AND REGIONAL IMPACTS OF HURRICANES IN NEW ENGLAND Emery R. Boose, Emery R. Boose Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, Massachusetts 01366 USASearch for more papers by this authorKristen E. Chamberlin, Kristen E. Chamberlin Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, Massachusetts 01366 USA 1Present address: P.O. Box 305, Colrain, Massachusetts 01340 USA.Search for more papers by this authorDavid R. Foster, David R. Foster Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, Massachusetts 01366 USASearch for more papers by this author Emery R. Boose, Emery R. Boose Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, Massachusetts 01366 USASearch for more papers by this authorKristen E. Chamberlin, Kristen E. Chamberlin Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, Massachusetts 01366 USA 1Present address: P.O. Box 305, Colrain, Massachusetts 01340 USA.Search for more papers by this authorDavid R. Foster, David R. Foster Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, Massachusetts 01366 USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 February 2001 https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9615(2001)071[0027:LARIOH]2.0.CO;2Citations: 143 Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract Hurricanes are a major factor controlling ecosystem structure, function, and dynamics in many coastal forests, but their ecological role can be understood only by assessing impacts in space and time over a period of centuries. We present a new method for reconstructing hurricane disturbance regimes using a combination of historical research and computer modeling. Historical evidence of wind damage for each hurricane in the selected region is quantified using the Fujita scale to produce regional maps of actual damage. A simple meteorological model (HURRECON), parameterized and tested for selected recent hurricanes, provides regional estimates of wind speed, direction, and damage for each storm. Individual reconstructions are compiled to analyze spatial and temporal patterns of hurricane impacts. Long-term effects of topography on a landscape scale are then simulated with a simple topographic exposure model (EXPOS). We applied this method to the region of New England, USA, examining hurricanes since European settlement in 1620. Results showed strong regional gradients in hurricane frequency and intensity from southeast to northwest: mean return intervals for F0 damage on the Fujita scale (loss of leaves and branches) ranged from 5 to 85 yr, mean return intervals for F1 damage (scattered blowdowns, small gaps) ranged from 10 to >200 yr, and mean return intervals for F2 damage (extensive blowdowns, large gaps) ranged from 85 to >380 yr. On a landscape scale, mean return intervals for F2 damage in the town of Petersham, Massachusetts, ranged from 125 yr across most sites to >380 yr on scattered lee slopes. Actual forest damage was strongly dependent on land use and natural disturbance history. Annual and decadal timing of hurricanes varied widely. There was no clear century-scale trend in the number of major hurricanes. The historical-modeling approach is applicable to any region with good historical records and will enable ecologists and land managers to incorporate insights on hurricane disturbance regimes into the interpretation and conservation of forests at landscape to regional scales. Literature Cited Bengtsson, L., M. Botzet, and M. Esch . 1997. Numerical simulation of intense tropical storms. Pages 67–90 in H. F. Diaz and R. S. Pulwarty, editors. Hurricanes: climate and socioeconomic impacts. Springer-Verlag, New York, New York, USA. Google Scholar Boose, E. R., K. E. Chamberlin, and D. R. Foster . 1997. Reconstructing historical hurricanes in New England. Pages 388–389 in Preprints of the 22nd conference on hurricanes and tropical meteorology. American Meteorological Society, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Google Scholar Boose, E. R., D. R. Foster, and M. Fluet . 1994. Hurricane impacts to tropical and temperate forest landscapes. Ecological Monographs 64: 369–400. 10.2307/2937142 Web of Science®Google Scholar Bravo, J., J. P. Donnelly, J. Dowling, and T. Webb . 1997. Sedimentary evidence for the 1938 hurricane in southern New England. Pages 395–396 in Preprints of the 22nd conference on hurricanes and tropical meteorology. American Meteorological Society, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Google Scholar Darling, N. 1842. Notice of a hurricane that passed over New England in September, 1815. American Journal of Science and Arts 42: 243–252. Google Scholar Diaz, H. F., and R. S. Pulwarty . editors. 1997. Hurricanes: climate and socioeconomic impacts. Springer-Verlag, New York, New York, USA. Google Scholar Dunn, G. E., and B. I. Miller . 1964. Atlantic hurricanes. Revised edition. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. Google Scholar Eastman, J. R. 1997. IDRISI for Windows, version 2.0. Clark University, Department of Geography, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. Google Scholar Emanuel, K. A. 1997. Climatic variations and hurricane activity: some theoretical issues. Pages 55–65 in H. F. Diaz and R. S. Pulwarty, editors. Hurricanes: climate and socioeconomic impacts. Springer-Verlag, New York, New York, USA. Google Scholar Fernandez-Partagas, J., and H. F. Diaz . 1995. A reconstruction of historical tropical cyclone frequency in the Atlantic from documentary and other historical sources 1851 to 1880. Part I (1851–1870) and Final Report. Climate Diagnostics Center, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington, D.C., USA. Google Scholar Foster, D. R. 1983. The history and pattern of fire in the boreal forest of southeastern Labrador. Canadian Journal of Botany 61: 2459–2471. 10.1139/b83-269 Web of Science®Google Scholar Foster, D. R., and J. D. Aber . editors 2001. Forests in time: the environmental consequences of 1000 years of change in New England. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Google Scholar Foster, D. R., J. D. Aber, J. M. Melillo, R. D. Bowden, and F. A. Bazzaz . 1997. Forest response to disturbance and anthropogenic stress: rethinking the 1938 Hurricane and the impact of physical disturbance vs. chemical and climate stress on forest ecosystems. BioScience 47 7 437–445. 10.2307/1313059 Web of Science®Google Scholar Foster, D. R., and E. R. Boose . 1992. Patterns of forest damage resulting from catastrophic wind in central New England, U.S.A. Journal of Ecology 80: 79–98. 10.2307/2261065 Web of Science®Google Scholar Foster, D. R., and E. R. Boose . 1995. Hurricane disturbance regimes in temperate and tropical forest ecosystems. Pages 305–339 in M. P. Coutts and J. Grace, editors. Wind and trees. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Google Scholar Foster, D. R., D. H. Knight, and J. F. Franklin . 1998. Landscape patterns and legacies resulting from large, infrequent forest disturbances. Ecosystems 1: 497–510. 10.1007/s100219900046 Web of Science®Google Scholar Fujita, T. T. 1971. Proposed characterization of tornadoes and hurricanes by area and intensity. Satellite and Mesometeorology Research Project Research Paper 91. University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Google Scholar Fujita, T. T. 1987. U.S. Tornadoes: Part one, 70-year statistics. Satellite and Mesometeorology Research Project Research Paper 218. University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Google Scholar Gray, W. M. 1990. Strong association between West African rainfall and U.S. landfalling intense hurricanes. Science 249: 1251–1256. 10.1126/science.249.4974.1251 CASPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar Gray, W. M., J. D. Sheaffer, and C. W. Landsea . 1997. Climate trends associated with multidecadal variability of Atlantic hurricane activity. Pages 15–53 in H. F. Diaz and R. S. Pulwarty, editors. Hurricanes: climate and socioeconomic impacts. Springer-Verlag, New York, New York, USA. Google Scholar Grazulis, T. P. 1993. Significant tornadoes 1680–1991. Environmental Films, St. Johnsbury, Vermont, USA. Google Scholar Heinselman, M. L. 1973. Fire in the virgin forests of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Minnesota. Quaternary Research 3: 329–382. 10.1016/0033-5894(73)90003-3 Google Scholar Henry, J. D., and J. M. A. Swan . 1974. Reconstructing forest history from live and dead plant material—an approach to the study of forest succession in southwest New Hampshire. Ecology 55: 772–783. 10.2307/1934413 Web of Science®Google Scholar Holland, G. J. 1980. An analytical model of the wind and pressure profiles in hurricanes. Monthly Weather Review 108: 1212–1218. 10.1175/1520-0493(1980)108 2.0.CO;2 Web of Science®Google Scholar Houston, S. H., and M. D. Powell . 1993. Surface wind fields during Hurricane Bob's (1991) landfall in New England. Pages 58–61 in Preprints of the 20th conference on hurricanes and tropical meteorology. American Meteorological Society, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Google Scholar Hunter, M. L. 1993. Natural fire regimes as spatial models for managing boreal forests. Biological Conservation 65: 115–120. 10.1016/0006-3207(93)90440-C Web of Science®Google Scholar Johnson, E. A. 1992. The ecology of fire in the boreal forest. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Google Scholar Lamb, H. 1991. Historic storms of the North Sea, British Isles and northwestern Europe. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Google Scholar Liu, H. 1993. Calculation of wind speeds required to damage or destroy buildings. Pages 535–541 in C. Church, D. Burgess, C. Doswell, and R. Davies-Jones, editors. The tornado: its structure, dynamics, prediction, and hazards. Geophysical Monograph 79. American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C., USA. Google Scholar Liu, K., and M. L. Fearn . 1997. Lake sediment records of Hurricane Opal and prehistoric hurricanes from the Florida panhandle. Pages 397–398 in Preprints of the 22nd conference on hurricanes and tropical meteorology. American Meteorological Society, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Google Scholar Ludlum, D. M. 1963. Early American hurricanes 1492–1870. American Meteorological Society, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Google Scholar Metropolitan District Commission. 1995. Final management plan for the Quabbin Reservoir Reservation. Metropolitan District Commission, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Google Scholar Minsinger, W. E. 1988. The 1938 hurricane: an historical and pictorial summary. Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, East Milton, Massachusetts, USA. Google Scholar Minsinger, W. E., and C. T. Orloff . 1992. Hurricane Bob, August 16–August 20, 1991: a brief history. Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, East Milton, Massachusetts, USA. Google Scholar Minsinger, W. E., and C. T. Orloff . 1994. The Great Atlantic Hurricane, September 8–16, 1944: an historical and pictorial summary. Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, East Milton, Massachusetts, USA. Google Scholar National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1994. Global tropical/extratropical cyclone climatic atlas. CD-ROM, version. 1.0. NOAA/U.S. Navy, Washington, D.C., USA. Google Scholar Neumann, C. J., B. R. Jarvinen, and A. C. Pike . 1987. Tropical cyclones of the North Atlantic ocean 1871–1986. Third revised edition. NOAA-National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, North Carolina, USA. Google Scholar Neumann, C. J., and C. J. McAdie . 1997. The Atlantic tropical cyclone file: a critical need for a revision. Pages 401–402 in Preprints of the 22nd conference on hurricanes and tropical meteorology. American Meteorological Society, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Google Scholar Perley, S. 1891. Historic storms of New England. Salem Press, Salem, Massachusetts, USA. Google Scholar Powell, M. D. 1982. The transition of the Hurricane Frederic boundary-layer wind field from the open Gulf of Mexico to landfall. Monthly Weather Review 110: 1912–1932. 10.1175/1520-0493(1982)110 2.0.CO;2 Web of Science®Google Scholar Powell, M. D. 1987. Changes in the low-level kinematic and thermodynamic structure of Hurricane Alicia (1983) at landfall. Monthly Weather Review 115: 75–99. 10.1175/1520-0493(1987)115 2.0.CO;2 Web of Science®Google Scholar Powell, M. D., S. H. Houston, and T. A. Reinhold . 1994. Standardizing wind measurements for documentation of surface wind fields in Hurricane Andrew. Pages 52–69 in R. A. Cook and M. Soltani, editors. Hurricanes of 1992: lessons learned and implications for the future. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York, New York, USA. Google Scholar Quine, C. P. 1995. Assessing the risk of wind damage to forests: practice and pitfalls. Pages 378–403 in M. P. Coutts and J. Grace, editors. Wind and trees. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Google Scholar Scatena, F. N., and M. C. Larsen . 1991. Physical aspects of Hurricane Hugo in Puerto Rico. Biotropica 23: 317–323. 10.2307/2388247 Web of Science®Google Scholar Simpson, R. H., and H. Riehl . 1981. The Hurricane and its impact. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. Google Scholar Smith, D. M. 1946. Storm damage in New England forests. Thesis. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Google Scholar Stephens, E. P. 1955. The historical-development method of determining forest trends. Dissertation. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Google Scholar Studholme, W. P. 1995. The experience of and management strategy adopted by the Selwyn Plantation Board, New Zealand. Pages 468–476 in M. P. Coutts and J. Grace, editors. Wind and trees. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Google Scholar Twisdale, L. A. 1978. Tornado data characterization and windspeed risk. Journal of the Structural Division, Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers 104: 1611–1630. Web of Science®Google Scholar Tyler, L. H. 1938. An album of pictures of the New England Hurricane and floods of September, nineteen hundred and thirty-eight. City Printing Company, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Google Scholar Westveld, M. 1956. Natural forest vegetation zones of New England. Journal of Forestry 54: 332–338. Google Scholar Willoughby, H. E. 1995. Mature structure and evolution. Pages 21–62 in Global perspectives on tropical cyclones. World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. Google Scholar Citing Literature Volume71, Issue1February 2001Pages 27-48 ReferencesRelatedInformation