The use of the slenderness coefficient in diagnosing wind damage risks

Abstract

Violent and unpredictable winds are a phenomenon that accompanies climate change. The method of limiting the level of wind damage in forests is the cultivation of multispecies, multi-story tree stands, appropriate spatial arrangement of age classes of tree stands, and cultivation measures increasing the stability of a single tree in a stand. There are many features of a single tree that determine resistance to abiotic damage caused by violent winds. In research on the resistance of trees and stands to the damaging effects of wind and snow, the slenderness coefficient is commonly used. The aim of the study is to form: (i) an assessment of the diagnostic (predictive) value of the slenderness coefficient against other variables used in wind damage risk modelling; (ii) a review of critical values of slenderness coefficients; (iii) conclusions for silviculture (forest management) from the research on the stability of tree stands, taking into account the slenderness coefficient.