Remote Sensing and Statistical Assessment of the Impact of Typhoon Doksuri on Subtropical Forests in China

Super typhoons are extreme climate events that cause significant casualties, infrastructure damage, and ecosystem degradation in coastal regions. Fujian Province, located along the southeastern coast of China, is a key area for subtropical forest distribution and frequently experiences typhoon impacts, making comprehensive assessments of its forest ecosystems particularly important. This study focuses on Super Typhoon Doksuri, the fifth typhoon of 2023, which reached a maximum wind speed of 62 m/s and made landfall with a wind speed of 50 m/s, causing severe damage in Fujian. Remote sensing data were processed using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, in combination with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) reflectance data before and after the typhoon, to quantitatively assess the extent of forest damage and the post-typhoon recovery dynamics in Fujian. Given the significant spatial variability of wind speed due to terrain complexity and vegetation structure, this study systematically analyzes the impact of indirect environmental regulatory factors—such as topography, precipitation, runoff, and forest type—on forest damage severity under the influence of typhoon winds. Results show that approximately 38.93% of forests in Fujian were affected to varying degrees. Time-series analysis based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) indicates that damaged forests gradually recovered, with the proportion of healthy forests increasing from 61.07% in the first month to 82.11% by the third month. Further analysis using Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) reveals that forest damage is significantly correlated with elevation, precipitation, runoff, and forest type, with the most severe damage occurring in high-elevation and low-runoff areas. This study, from a remote sensing perspective, systematically uncovers the damage patterns and regulatory mechanisms of super typhoons on forest ecosystems, providing scientific support and management recommendations for disaster assessment, forest monitoring, and ecological protection in the context of climate change.