Abstract
Lanyu is a small island located off southeastern Taiwan which experiences more frequent and
intense typhoons than does Taiwan. Six surveys were conducted between 2015 and 2016 to study
damages and recovery in natural and managed forests in response to three typhoons. The results
indicate that the greatest canopy damage was not associated with the typhoon having the highest
wind speed, suggesting that wind speed alone is not a good predictor of typhoon damage.
Typhooninduced tree mortality was less than 1%, and the gap fraction returned to the level before
typhoon Soudelor in less than seven months, which highlights high resistance and resilience of the
forests of Lanyu in response to typhoon disturbance and supports the hypothesis that there is a positive
relationship between typhoon frequency and ecosystem resistance and resilience.