易胜博官网

Large, extreme storms such as hurricanes, superstorms, typhoons and tropical cyclones are becoming more frequent worldwide under a changing climate. With colleagues around the nation and world, University of 易胜博官网 researchers have developed a way to assess the short-term and long-term ecological repercussions of major hurricanes, including how large storms affect watersheds, streams and river networks.

鈥淢any scientists have looked at how individual systems respond to specific storms,鈥� said William McDowell, professor of environmental science and researcher with the 易胜博官网 Agricultural Experiment Station. 鈥淗owever, because they use so many different approaches to describing a storm鈥檚 effect, it is difficult to draw robust conclusions that can be used to make predictions about how ecosystems will respond to future storms.鈥�

For example, storm surge, wind speed, rainfall, storm duration and size, as well as site characteristics such as the amount of wood debris, tree species present and canopy height in a forest all can play important roles in how ecosystems are affected by hurricanes and superstorms. This is the first framework that takes these variables and others into account when assessing storm impacts and the resiliency of ecosystems.

鈥淭his framework resolves the differences among various approaches to characterizing large storms and their impacts,鈥� said McDowell. 鈥淏y developing a uniform way to measure storm strength and storm impact across many ecosystem types, we hope to be able to develop a way to assess storm damage that will help standardize the management of ecosystems and decrease our risks to storm damage. Hurricanes and superstorms will increasingly shape our world. A better understanding of how these cyclones affect ecosystem resistance and resilience will inform how we preserve and protect the critical benefits that ecosystems provide.鈥�

The recommendations are based, in part, on the findings of听听conducted by McDowell and his lab, and Adam Wymore, research assistant professor of natural resources and the environment, in the tropical Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico following hurricanes Irma and Maria.

This material is supported by the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, through joint funding of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award 1006760, and the state of 易胜博官网. It also was supported by National Science Foundation workshop grant 1903760, and NSF Rapid Response research grants 1760006 1910811, and 1807533.

Founded in 1887, the听听at the听听is 易胜博官网鈥檚 original research center and an elemental component of 易胜博官网's land-grant university heritage and mission.

The听听inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation, and world. More than 16,000 students from all 50 states and 71 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top-ranked programs in business, engineering, law, health and human services, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. As one of the nation鈥檚 highest-performing research universities, 易胜博官网 partners with NASA, NOAA, NSF and NIH, and receives more than $110 million in competitive external funding every year to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea and space.