Tree uprooting: review of terminology, process, and environmental implications

Abstract

Floralturbation, the mixing of soil by the action of plants, is an important pedologic process in forested areas. The uprooting of trees, the most obvious form of floralturbation, is a natural process found in nearly all forested landscapes. The term uprooting is distinct from such terms as treethrow, treefall, and blowdown, which imply processes that may occur without soil disturbance, as in bole snap. Uprooting is exacerbated by shallow rooting, topographic exposure, weakened condition of the tree, certain cutting practices, and (or) low soil cohesion and shear strength. The root plate of an uprooted tree may deteriorate into a pit-mound pair, the size and shape of which depends on the characteristics of the root plate and the amount of backward displacement during uprooting. This paper (i) provides a synthesis of related terminology on the topics of treefall and uprooting, (ii) examines various lines of evidence for the widespread occurrence of uprooting, (iii) summarizes disturbance cycles for catastrophic uprooting events in different environments, (iv) discusses several examples of the economic import and scale of widespread uprooting events, and (v) reviews environmental factors and silvicultural practices that may lead to increased uprooting or can be used to minimize its likelihood.

Ecological importance of intermediate windstorms rivals large, infrequent disturbances in the northern Great Lakes

“…A review by Schaetzl et al (1989) finds uprooting of trees to be more likely on soils inhibiting the growth of deep roots, whether by a hardpan, stoniness, water table, or other factors. Schaetzl et al (1989) also differentiate between uprooting and bole snapping. Hubert (1918) is among the first to identify uprooting as more likely in shallowrooted trees and bole snapping among those trees with deep roots.…”

Buried artifacts in stable upland sites and the role of bioturbation: A review

“…Mixing of temporally distinct cultural materials can be expected to occur in woodlands and forested areas (Schaetzl et al, 1989(Schaetzl et al, , 1990, where tree-uprooting can displace entire soil profiles to at least one meter depth (Lutz and Griswold, 1939) and displace any rocks or artifacts that may be within the dislodged soil material. On at least one occasion, while participating in a Phase I archaeological survey in the forested areas of Fort Leonard Wood in south-central Missouri, I observed prehistoric artifacts exposed in the soil of an uprooted tree.…”

Physical and Biological Responses of Forests to Tropical Cyclones Affecting the United States Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico Coasts

“…Windthrow, or uprooting, suggests that a tree has fallen with most of its roots intact. Windthrow occurs when the lateral forces applied to a tree overcome the root anchorage [89,95] . In this case, the stem does not generally break and the soil mass adhering to the roots is generally attached, resulting in pit-mound microtopography [86] .…”

“…In this case, the stem does not generally break and the soil mass adhering to the roots is generally attached, resulting in pit-mound microtopography [86] . The drag coefficient of a tree canopy is important in determining the type of wind damage, as is the canopy position, the water balance and nutrient regime of the tree, the age of the tree and the species [95] . The roots that strengthen trees against wind are short, stout, horizontal or oblique roots of the bracket-angle type.…”

“…Additionally, shallow rooting, moist soil conditions and root rot all contribute to an increased vulnerability to windthrow. In fact, anything that impedes deep rooting of trees makes them more susceptible to windthrow [43,53,95] . Root strength of large trees is difficult to determine and varies due to soil type and moisture status.…”