Relative vulnerability of the forests along southeastern African coasts to cyclones

Bibliographic Data

ID20153476
AuthorsPete Bettinger (0000-0002-5454-3970, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens Georgia USA, corresponding author), Krista Merry (0000-0001-6450-2286, University of Georgia), Krista L Merry (Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens Georgia USA)
Year2012
Volume33
Issue3
Pages320-334
Publication date2012-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSingapore Journal of Tropical Geography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0129-7619 • E-ISSN: 1467-9493
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/sjtg.12000
OpenAlexW1866475557
LanguageEN
References cited35

The forests of southeastern A frica are vulnerable to damage imposed by tropical cyclones operating in the S outh I ndian O cean. We undertook a geographical analysis to determine the relative vulnerability of forests given tropical cyclones recorded during the 1959–2008 storm seasons. From this analysis, eastern coastal forests of M adagascar seem to be the most vulnerable, although return intervals for severe storms vary along the eastern coast, and are shorter (about 10 years) through the central portion of the country. Therefore, the central lowland to upper montane rainforests on the eastern coast seem to be more vulnerable to damage from tropical cyclones than others in the area. While not as extensive, western coastal forests of M adagascar are also as vulnerable in part due to the recurvature of storms in the M ozambique C hannel. Though the coastal forests of M ozambique are all nearly equal in terms of vulnerability, the return interval for severe storms to this area is highly variable. The inland M iombo forests of southeast Africa are less vulnerable to damage from tropical cyclones; however, portions of western M ozambique and Z imbabwe have experienced strong tropical storms in the last 50 years. A number of caveats and limitations associated with the data and analyses are noted. Given the broad scale of the study, the relative vulnerability and the return intervals for severe storms should be considered general representations of these phenomena for the southeastern A frican coast and the island of M adagascar

Climatology · Geography · Meteorology · Physical geography · Rainforest · Storm · Tropical cyclone · Vulnerability (computing) · Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics · Cocoa and Sweet Potato Agronomy · Ecology · Geology · Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research

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