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Storm Xynthia's Legacy: Over 4 million cubic metres Stormwood in the European Union

From February 27th to 28th 2010 the 228 km/h strong wind and rainstorm Xynthia hit Western Europe in a fast trip Northwards along the Atlantic coast, causing 65 fatalities and widespread material damage. As the first week after the event passed, it unveiled also a grim outlook for European forests from Galicia in Northwest Spain to the Baltic Sea, as stormwood accumulates near the hurricane pathway in Spain, France & Germany.

Storm Xynthia Europe Forests Damage and Stormwood Map for Galicia, Basque Country, Aquitaine, Ardennes, Vosges, Meuse, Saar, Rheineland, Palatinate, Westfalia, Bavaria, Thuringia, Harz, Hesse, +4 million cubic meters stormwood / Orkan Xynthia Sturmholz Karte Deutschland, Frankereich, Spanien, +4 millionen festmeter sturmholz / Mapa de Daños Forestales Tormenta Xynthia en Galicia, Euskadi, Aquitania, Renania, Palatinado, Sarre, Vosgos, Alsacia, Lorena, Harz, Turingia, Baviera / Tempete Xynthia degats bois Allemagne, France, Espagne / Gustavo Iglesias Trabado, Roberto Carballeira Tenreiro, Javier Folgueira Lozano / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoria y Servicios de Ingenieria Forestal / Eucalyptologics: information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation worldwide

Fig. 1: Storm Xynthia (27-28 February 2010) European Forests Damage Map (First Estimation - March 5th 2010) by GIT Forestry Consulting / +4 million cubic metres stormwood in the European Union. (Please contact us for an enlarged 1480 x 1280 pixel map version).

A first overall estimation of stormwood volumes exceeds 4 million cubic metres of timber scattered over European forest soils, mainly in Germany (more than 80% total). Affected areas following the path of the hurricane are Galicia (0.10 million m3) & the Basque Country (0.15 million m3) in Spain; the Pyrènèes Maritimes (0.10 million m3), L'Allier (0.01 million m3), the Meuse (0.05 million m3) & the Vosges (0.10 million m3) in France; the Ardennes (little damage) in Belgium; and Saarland (0.1 million m3), Rhineland-Palatinate (1.7 million m3), Hessen (1.2 million m3), Westfalia (0.4 million m3), Thuringia (0.1 million m3), the Harz Forest (0.07 million m3) & Northern Bavaria (0.02 million m3) in Germany.

The most affected region according to estimated stormwood volumes seems to be the Rheineland-Pflaz in Germany, so its forestry shrine, the Palatinate Forest, may be considered "Ground Zero" for Event Xynthia.

Acknowledgements

Asociación Galega Monte-Industria (SPA), Bayerische Staatsforsten AöR (GER), Confederación de Forestalistas del País Vasco (SPA), Consellería do Medio Rural - Xunta de Galicia (SPA); IES - Institute for Environment and Sustainability - European Commission Joint Research Centre (ITA) , Fédération Nationale des Syndicats de Forestiers Privés de France (FRA), Landesbetrieb Hessen-Forst (GER), Landesbetrieb Wald und Holz Nordrhein-Westfalen (GER), Landesforsten Rheineland-Pfalz (GER), Thüringer Ministerium für Landwirtschaft, Forsten, Umwelt und Naturschutz (GER), MeteoFrance - Ministère de l'Ecologie, de l'Energie, du Développement Durable et de la Mer (FRA), MeteoGalicia - Consellería de Medio Ambiente, Territorio e Infraestruturas - Xunta de Galicia (SPA); Niedersächsische Landesforsten (GER), Office National des Forêts (FRA), SaarForst Landesbetrieb (GER) & others.

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Largest Eucalyptus forests in Iberia blown down once more?

From February 27th to 28th 2010 the 228 km/h strong wind and rainstorm Xynthia swept accross the Atlantic from Madeira Island en route to coastal Atlantic Europe, causing widespread damage in Portugal, Northern Spain and Western France.

Fig. 1: Animation of the pathway of Storm Xynthia from the recently catastrophically damaged Madeira Island to the Baltic Sea, depicting heavily affected areas, including some of the most productive cultivated timberlands in Europe. Base satellite image courtesy Meteogalicia.

Of explosive cyclogenesis origin, as Klaus, the unusual and very fast moving wind blast, with intensities roughly equivalent to a Category 4 Hurricane for localized peak winds, caused catastrophic damage to infrastructures in Galicia and the Northern coast in Spain, affecting once more the largest Eucalyptus timberland in Europe before travelling as a Northeasterlie to hit the Charente Maritime, the Vendee and Brittany in France, causing at least 55 fatalities.

Storm Xynthia maximum wind speed damages Pine and Eucalyptus Forests in Europe at Galicia, Spain / Los picos de viento de la tormenta Xynthia arrasan bosques de pino y de eucalipto en Galicia, España / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo

Fig. 2: Maximum wind speed readings by weather stations in Galicia during Storm Xynthia (27 to 28 February 2010) reaching 196 km/h. You can compare with similar peaks caused by Storm Klaus (23 to 24th January 2009). Base Map courtesy Meteogalicia.

Maximum wind speeds almost reached the Klaus 2009 new record for measurements in Galicia, surpassing again the effects of cyclone Hortensia in 1984. Peak winds over 150 km/h hit the Atlantic coast, where an important piece of the largest cultivated Eucalyptus rainforest stands; and also hit inland in the already heavily damaged afforested highlands of Eastern Galicia, slowly recovering from previous damage to pine timberlands caused by Storm Klaus last year.

Prospective Catastrophic Damage Areas for Pine & Eucalypt Forests in Galicia (NW Spain)

Once more, cross-checking wind impact cartography with timber resource allocation maps allows to roughly define those areas where winds in excess of 135 km/h may have caused heavy to catastrophic damage to tree plantations, windmill farms and varied industrial, communications and urban infrastructures.

Storm Xynthia damages Pine and Eucalyptus Forests in Europe at Galicia, Spain / La tormenta Xynthia arrasa bosques de pino y de eucalipto en Galicia, España / GIT Forestry Consulting, Consultoría y Servicios de Ingeniería Agroforestal, Galicia, España, Spain / Eucalyptologics, information resources on Eucalyptus cultivation around the world / Eucalyptologics, recursos de informacion sobre el cultivo del eucalipto en el mundo

Fig. 3: Prospective catastrophic damage areas caused by Storm Xynthia to Eucalyptus plantations in Galicia (Northwestern Spain). Top wind speed (km/h) remarked for each area. You can compare with damage caused by Storm Klaus (23 to 24th January 2009). Base Maps courtesy EUITF - Universidad de Vigo.

Fig. 4: Prospective catastrophic damage areas caused by Storm Xynthia to Pinus plantations in Galicia (Northwestern Spain). Top wind speed (km/h) remarked for each area. You can compare with damage caused by Storm Klaus (23 to 24th January 2009) Base Maps courtesy EUITF - Universidad de Vigo.

Even if peak wind speed approached that of Klaus, the average wind gusts were milder for most of Galicia, and prospective damaged timber growing areas are more localized. In addition, the wind peaks hiting the worst affected area by Klaus last year were milder this time, reaching "only" 122 km/h, sparing the very productive heavily Eucalyptus afforested Northern coast from catastrophe.

Why does this happen... and how it looks like?