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Tsunami mitigation by coastal vegetation considering the effect of tree breaking

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Abstract

Damage to vegetation by tsunami moment and reduction of potential tsunami force are discussed based on a numerical simulation. A numerical model based on two-dimensional nonlinear long-wave equations that include drag forces and turbulence-induced shear force due to the presence of vegetation was developed to estimate tree breaking. The numerical model was then applied to a coastal forest where two dominant tropical vegetation species, Pandanus odoratissimus and Casuarina equisetifolia, were considered. The threshold water depth for tree breaking increased with increasing forest width, and the analysis was consistent with the field investigation results that the critical tsunami water depth for breaking is around 80% of the tree height for P. odoratissimus. C. equisetifolia is stronger than P. odoratissimus against tsunami action, but P. odoratissimus can reduce a greater tsunami force than C. equisetifolia due to its complex of aerial root structures. Even if breakage occurs, P. odoratissimus still has high potential to reduce the tsunami force due to its dense aerial root structures. Previous numerical models that do not include the breaking phenomena may overestimate the vegetation effect for reducing tsunami force. The combination of P. odoratissimus and C. equisetifolia is recommended as a vegetation bioshield to protect coastal areas from tsunami hazards.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by JSPS AA Science Platform Program. Mr. N.A.K. Nandasena is acknowledged for his help. The first author would like to acknowledge the financial support by National Foundation for Science & Technology Development (NAFOSTED) of Vietnam.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting — NCHMF, No 4 Dang Thai Than Street, Hanoi, Hoan Kiem District, Vietnam

    Nguyen Ba Thuy

  2. Institute for Environmental Science and Technology, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan

    Norio Tanaka

  3. Professor Emeritus of Saitama University, 255 Shimo-okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan

    Katsutoshi Tanimoto

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  1. Nguyen Ba Thuy
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  2. Norio Tanaka
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  3. Katsutoshi Tanimoto
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Correspondence to Norio Tanaka.

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Thuy, N.B., Tanaka, N. & Tanimoto, K. Tsunami mitigation by coastal vegetation considering the effect of tree breaking. J Coast Conserv 16, 111–121 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-011-0179-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-011-0179-7

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