As their plane flew low on its approach to land at the airport on the island of Dominica, researchers from Clemson and Harvard universities looked out the window to see miles of forests with trees that looked like matchsticks.
As their plane flew low on its approach to land at the airport on the island of Dominica, researchers from Clemson and Harvard universities looked out the window to see miles of forests with trees that looked like matchsticks.
It was nine months after the island in the West Indies had taken a direct hit from Category 5 Hurricane Maria.
But when the researchers actually got into the forests and examined the trees more closely, they discovered that while 89% of the trees sustained damage — 76% of which had major damage —only 10% were immediately killed. Many of the trees had resprouted.
Read More: Clemson University
Nearly 90 percent of the trees in nine designated plots in Dominica were damaged by Hurricane Maria. Only 10 percent died immediately. (Photo Credit: Benton Taylor)
