Wind not only causes extensive damage to trees in many parts of the world, it also has more subtle effects on their growth, form and ecology. This, the first symposium volume on the topic, contains a selection from the papers presented at a conference, Wind and Wind-Related Damage to Trees, held at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, in July 1993. The conference, which was initiated by Chris Quine, was held under the auspices of the International Union of Forestry Research Organisations, and brought together about a hundred people from seventeen countries.

Wind damage to trees has historically been the province of the silviculturist, but increasing recognition of the importance and complexity of the subject has more recently involved people from many other discplines, and this has resulted in a greatly increased understanding of the main processes involved. The conference served to bring together the new approaches and methodologies; it enabled discussion between physicists, aerodynamicists, foresters, engineers, physiologists, ecologists, pathologists and modellers, and led to a remarkable cross-fertilisation of ideas between scientists who would not normally meet.

For convenience the papers have been gathered into five parts, each beginning with a review. The parts are: Airflow over topography and in forests; Mechanics of trees under wind loading; Tree physiological responses; Impacts of wind on forests and ecology; Risk assessment and management response. The coverage of different aspects of the subject is decidedly uneven. For example, tree root development and the way in which roots and soil anchor the tree have received less attention than what is going on above ground, and the contents of this book reflect such disparities.