Assessment of the mixed coniferousbroadleaved forest canopy disturbance induced by typhoon Maysak (2020) using drone-borne images near Vladivostok, Russia

Abstract

We assess the impact of typhoon Maysak (2020) on the canopy structure of mixed coniferous-broadleaved forests with Abies holophylla, Pinus koraiensis and a complex of deciduous broad-leaved species and secondary oak forests of Quercus mongolica. The study was conducted in the experimental forest of the Botanical Garden-Institute FEB RAS. We classified the natural forest vegetation of the study area, created a high-resolution vegetation map, and assessed the damage from typhoon Maysak remotely using the ultra-high resolution images, obtained with an unmanned aerial vehicle. We found that the largest number and area of canopy gaps are associated with the conditionally primary coniferous-broadleaved forests, where Abies holophylla and Pinus koraiensis form the main canopy layer. The smallest number and area of gaps relate to the secondary oak forests.