Wind Impacts on Forests and Trees in a Changing Climate—A Special Issue in Collaboration with the IUFRO Working Party 8.03.06

Dear Colleagues,

Trees regularly face a number of biotic and abiotic stresses. Among these, wind play an important role in stand dynamics but can also interfere with forest management plans. In recent decades, a number of severe storms have caused serious damage in many parts of the world leading to large economic and habitat losses. This situation is likely to become more prevalent in the context of climate change where a higher recurrence of extreme events is expected and there is an increased risk of additional damage from bark beetles and fires following a wind storm. Understanding the windthrow process, its impacts, and adjusting to windthrow risk require an interdisciplinary approach building on an understanding of climate, ecology, wind behavior, tree biomechanics, tree physiology, silviculture, and tree and forest management. 

For this Special Issue, we encourage contributions that try to build a better understanding of wind impacts on trees and how this knowledge can be integrated into the management of trees and forests, placing this new knowledge in the context of climate change. The core of the Special issue will consist of papers presented at the IUFRO 2020 Wind and trees conference (https://windandtrees2020.com/), but additional papers are welcome. Contributions can take the form of either research papers or comprehensive review articles.

Prof. Jean-Claude Ruel
Dr. Barry Gardiner
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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