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(American Journal of Botany. 2009;96:885-896.) doi: 10.3732/ajb.0800226 © 2009 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

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Crown structure and wood properties: Influence on tree sway and response to high winds¹

² SCION, 49 Sala Street, Rotorua 3010, New Zealand ³ CIRAD, UMR AMAP, TA-A51/PS2, Boulevard de la Lironde 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France

ABSTRACT

Wind can alter plant growth and cause extensive, irreversible damage in forested areas. To better understand how to mitigate the effects of wind action, we investigated the sensitivity of tree aerodynamic behavior to the material and geometrical factors characterizing the aerial system. The mechanical response of a 35-yr-old maritime pine (Pinus pinaster, Pinaceae) submitted to static and dynamic wind loads is simulated with a finite element model. The branching structure is represented in three dimensions. Factor effects are evaluated using a fractional experimental design. Results show that material properties play only a limited role in tree dynamics. In contrast, small morphological variations can produce extreme behaviors such as either very little or nearly critical dissipation of stem oscillations. Slender trees are shown to be relatively more vulnerable to stem breakage than uprooting. Dynamic loading leads to deflections and forces up to 20% higher near the base of the tree than those calculated for a static loading of similar magnitude. Effects of branch geometry on dynamic amplification are substantial yet not linear. The flexibility of the aerial system is found to be critical to reducing the resistance to the airflow and thus to minimizing the risk of failure.

Key Words: acclimatization • architecture • damping ratio • dynamics • numerical analysis • Pinus pinaster • sway frequency • tree biomechanics • wind

Received for publication 4 July 2008. Accepted for publication 20 January 2009.

FOOTNOTES

¹ The authors thank P. Ancelin, Y. Brunet, B. Gardiner, and P. Lac for the insightful discussions that led to this study. The authors also thank D. Cown, J. Harrington, and an anonymous reviewer for their time and very helpful comments on this paper. The research was funded by GIP-ECOFOR through "Forêts, vent et risques" as part of VENFOR project. AMAP (Botany and Computational Plant Architecture) is a joint research unit of scientists from CIRAD (UMR51), CNRS (UMR5120), INRA (UMR931), IRD (2M123), and Montpellier 2 University (UM27).

⁴ Author for correspondence (e-mail: damien.sellier{at}scionresearch.com)

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