How to Make Trees Storm Resistant

Tree City USA Bulletin #75 — Sources for More Information

There is considerable information available beyond that which could be fit into the 8-page bulletin. We attempted to draw from the best scientific sources and summarize the key information, but below you will find quick links to much more. These are considered only as starting points for a much broader body of information that can help make urban forests more storm resistant.

Outstanding Online Publications

• The Urban Forest Hurricane Recovery Program at the University of Florida has a comprehensive publication available as well as a wealth of other information.
• Trees and Ice Storms - The Development of Ice-Storm-Resistant Urban Tree Populations produced by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provides historical background and a large amount of current information to prevent ice storm damage.
• Storms over the Urban Forest published by the U.S. Forest Service is one of the classics on this topic. It is an older publication but still highly valuable for planning to protect community forests from storm damage and how to respond when it occurs.

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Street Tree Stability

• Soil Volume Minimums for Street Trees Organized by State/Province at Deeproots’ website on Green Infrastructure.
• For more information, search “tree biomechanics” online.

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Pruning

• Pruning Affects Tree Movement in Hurricane Force Wind by Gilman, Masters & Grabosky.
• Hurricane Cuts Compromise Palm Tree Structure in High Winds by Doug Caldwell.
• Pruning Palms by Timothy K. Broschat

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Salt

• Trees and Shrubs that Tolerate Saline Soils and Salt Spray Drift issued by Virginia Tech.

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Resistant Species

• Ice Resistant Tree Populations issued by the University of New Hampshire.
• Hurricane Resistant Trees by Charlotte Glen, North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
• Smart Growth in Urban Forestry: Using Hurricane Resistant Trees by Beau Brodbeck, Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

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Care for Trees After a Storm

• Storm Recovery at Arbor Day Foundation website.
• Hurricane-Damaged Palms in the Landscape: Care after the Storm by Monica L. Elliott and Timothy Broschat, University of Florida.

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i-Storm

• i-Storm is one of the suite of i-Tree programs designed to help communities quantify and manage the urban forest and the eco-services it provides. This one helps with rapid assessment of storm damage and the amount of help that will be needed for cleanup.