Sheil (2026) How Forests May Reduce the Incidence of Destructive Tropical Cyclones, Hurricanes and Typhoons

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Forests
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-03-13
• Authors: Douglas Sheil
• DOI: 10.3390/f17030359

Research Groups

Information not provided in the paper text. This is a review paper synthesizing existing literature.

Short Summary

This review systematically examines whether and how forests influence tropical cyclone frequency, intensity, and behaviour. It finds strong support for post-landfall effects, such as slowing storms and curbing flooding, while pre-landfall influences remain less certain but warrant further investigation.

Objective

• To systematically review and synthesize existing evidence on whether and how forests influence tropical cyclone frequency, intensity, and behaviour.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global (synthesis of studies across various tropical cyclone basins).
• Temporal Scale: Not explicitly defined, but covers processes relevant to tropical cyclone lifecycles (hours to days) and forest dynamics (years to decades).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not applicable; this is a literature review synthesizing findings from various studies, some of which may have used models.
• Data sources: Literature review; synthesizes findings from existing scientific papers, observations, and theoretical frameworks.

Main Results

• Post-landfall effects of forests have the strongest support: forests slow storms, moderate wind speeds, and curb flooding through enhanced soil infiltration.
• Forests also influence storm tracks, though the magnitude of this effect is uncertain.
• Pre-landfall effects, such as modification of offshore humidity, temperature, and aerosols, are less certain. This includes the Biotic Pump theory proposing that forest cover reduces moisture availability for ocean storms.
• Forest influences are likely most evident near thresholds for storm formation or intensification, where small perturbations can alter outcomes, indicating context-dependency.

Contributions

• Provides the first systematic review examining the potential influence of forests on tropical cyclone frequency, intensity, and behaviour.
• Reconciles divergent findings by highlighting the context-dependency of forest-cyclone interactions, particularly near storm formation/intensification thresholds.
• Aids the integration of forests into climate risk assessments and identifies key research priorities for pre-landfall effects.
• Strengthens the case for forest conservation based on clear post-landfall protection benefits and potential pre-landfall influences.

Funding

Not provided in the paper text.

Citation

@article{Sheil2026How,
  author = {Sheil, Douglas},
  title = {How Forests May Reduce the Incidence of Destructive Tropical Cyclones, Hurricanes and Typhoons},
  journal = {Forests},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/f17030359},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/f17030359}
}