Abstract
During typhoons, risk of wind destruction to trees is harder to predict for trees in urban areas than for those in plains, and the influencing factors are more intricate. This study integrated a simplified HWIND mechanistic model for trees, computational fluid dynamics simulations for airflow, and quantified tree morphology indicators to predict the risk of wind destruction to urban trees. The workflow was demonstrated using three typical streets in Guangzhou, China. The workflow was verified based on the observed damage states of case trees in the study areas after Typhoon Mangkhut. Original critical wind speed in plains (CWSP(10)) and urban regions (CWS(10)) at a height of 10 m were introduced to evaluate the wind resistance and destruction risk to urban trees. The relative influence of various factors on CWS(10) and CWSP(10) was evaluated through Relative Weight Analysis and Random Forest. For urban trees with uprooting as the primary destruction mode, wind resistance is mainly influenced by tree height and total root-soil length in terms of tree morphology indicators, while the decisive factor affecting wind destruction risk is the “built environment indicator,” defined as BEI=CWS(10)/CWSP(10).
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call