Identification of wind storm risk areas in forested mountains (Šumava Mts., Czechia)
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2011 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Earth magnetism, geography |
| Keywords | windthrows, risk area identification, Kyrill hurricane, Šumava Mts. |
| Description | Šumava Mts. along the border of Czech Republic with Germany and Austria are frequently damaged by windstorms. The Hurricane Kyrill has totally or partly damaged dozens of square kilometers of the forest of the Šumava Mts. in January 2007. The STRiM project’s aim was to apply the commonly used geoinformation technologies (GIT) and data to contribute the better windthrow risks assessment and prediction of damages. GIT may significantly contribute, if not to the reduction of the number of devastating winds, at least to the minimization of the damage and a quick recovery. The research hypotheses presumed that the incidence of windthrows, the amount of harm done and the cost of alleviating it are in close relationship with natural factors of the area and especially terrain features of the landscape, as well as with some human forest maintenance impacts. The geostatistical analysis has identified that the individual terrain features – slope, aspect and sea elevation derived from DEM – compared with the general (at the closest meteostations) wind direction provided less reliable results. Additional data on soil depth and humidity was used and information about the forest canopy age, density and management history as well. Very applicable results are based on the integrated physical and forest canopy features. |
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