Recovery of the forest's protective effect after stand-replacing wind disturbances

Recovery of the forest's protective effect after stand-replacing wind disturbances | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Recovery of the forest's protective effect after stand-replacing wind disturbances Christine Moos, Dietrich Kaya, Alexandra Erbach, Christian Ginzler, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5979625/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Jun, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Forests in mountain areas provide an indispensable ecosystem service by protecting people and infrastructure from natural hazards. However, open questions remain regarding its long-term and reliable provision, which will amplify with climate change. In particular, natural disturbances, such as wind storms, can cause temporary losses of the forest's protective effect, potentially leading to higher natural hazard risks. In this study, we analyzed the recovery of the protective effect of a large number of windthrow areas in the Swiss Alps using high-resolution canopy height models and single tree detection. We observed a considerable recovery of tree height (67 % on average), forest cover (90 %) and stem density (46 %) 31 years after the storm. Basal area showed a lower recovery of 16 % on average with 25 % of the studied areas showing a retarded recovery of < 6 %. This highlights the extended timescales required for full recovery of the protective effect against certain hazard types, such as rockfall or landslides. Recovery rates were most importantly influenced by temperature, precipitation, local topography, gap size and lithological substrate, underlining the importance of local environmental conditions when predicting recovery. The study highlights future research gaps, including the role of deadwood as well as species mixture in the recovery of the forest's protective effect after disturbances. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Natural hazards Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Ecosystem services Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Forestry Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files MoosetalScientificReports.zip Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Jun, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Accepted 19 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 06 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Apr, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 23 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 23 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 10 Apr, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5979625","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":447006202,"identity":"8149b94c-1b25-4142-bef7-6aa6bdf26351","order_by":0,"name":"Christine 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However, open questions remain regarding its long-term and reliable provision, which will amplify with climate change. In particular, natural disturbances, such as wind storms, can cause temporary losses of the forest's protective effect, potentially leading to higher natural hazard risks. In this study, we analyzed the recovery of the protective effect of a large number of windthrow areas in the Swiss Alps using high-resolution canopy height models and single tree detection. We observed a considerable recovery of tree height (67 % on average), forest cover (90 %) and stem density (46 %) 31 years after the storm. Basal area showed a lower recovery of 16 % on average with 25 % of the studied areas showing a retarded recovery of \u003c 6 %. This highlights the extended timescales required for full recovery of the protective effect against certain hazard types, such as rockfall or landslides. 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