Hurricane Hugo Wind Damage to Southeastern U.S. Coastal Forest Tree Species

One percent of Hobcaw Forest, a 3077 ha tract in South Carolina's lower coastal plain, was inventoried with fixed area plots within four months after the eye of Hurricane Hugo passed 97 km south of the forest. Results of this sampling confirmed our hypotheses that the amount and nature of hurricane wind damage differed among the tree species sampled. Approximately 73 percent of the 16,870 trees inventoried were either not damaged or had light crown damage. Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) was less damaged than loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) or pond pine (Pinus serotina). Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) suffered light crown damage. Upland oaks were more heavily damaged than the pine species. Live oak (Quercus virginiana) was less damaged than laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia) and water oak (Quercus nigra). Those tree species commonly found in the lower coastal plain (longleaf pine, bald cypress, and live oak) suffered less damage than species with larger natural ranges.