PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Mary L. Duryea
AU  - George M. Blakeslee
AU  - William G. Hubbard
AU  - Ricardo A. Vasquez
TI  - Wind and Trees: A Survey of Homeowners After Hurricane Andrew
AID  - 10.48044/jauf.1996.006
DP  - 1996 Jan 01
TA  - Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF)
PG  - 44--50
VI  - 22
IP  - 1
4099  - http://auf.isa-arbor.com/content/22/1/44.short
4100  - http://auf.isa-arbor.com/content/22/1/44.full
SO  - JOA1996 Jan 01; 22
AB  - The destructive winds of Hurricane Andrew dramatically changed the urban forest in Dade County, Florida on August 24, 1992. Overnight, the tree canopy was replaced by a landscape of broken, uprooted, defoliated and severely damaged trees. To assist communities in reforestation efforts, scientists at the University of Florida conducted a homeowner survey to determine how different tree species responded to strong winds. Native tree species, such as box leaf stopper, sabal palm gumbo limbo, and live oak were the best survivors of the winds. Other palms such as areca, cabada, and Alexander were also highly wind resistant. In general, fruit trees such as navel orange, mango, avocado and grapefruit were severely damaged. Black olive, live oak, and gumbo limbo trees that were pruned survived the hurricane better than unpruned trees. Only 18% of all the trees that fell caused property damage. Hurricane-susceptible communities should consider wind resistance as one of thei r criteria in tree species selection.