Tropical Cyclone ‘Rona’ crossed the coast of the Daintree lowlands of northeastern Australia in 1999. This study reports on its impact on forest canopy openness at six lowland rain forest sites with contrasting management histories (old-growth, selectively logged and regrowth). Percentage canopy openness was calculated from individual hemispherical photographs taken from marked points below the forest canopy at nine plots per site 3–4 mo before the cyclone, and at the same points a month afterwards. Before the cyclone, when nine sites were visited, canopy openness in old-growth and logged sites was similar, but significantly higher in regrowth forest. After the cyclone, all six revisited sites showed an increase in canopy openness, but the increase was very patchy amongst plots and sites and varied from insignificant to severe. The most severely impacted site was an old-growth one, the least impacted a logged one. Although proneness to impact was apparently related to forest management history (old-growth being the most impacted), underlying local topography may have had an equally strong influence in this case. It was concluded that the likelihood of severe impact may be determined at the landscape-scale by the interaction of anthropogenic with meteorological, physiographic and biotic factors. In the long term, such interactions may caution against pursuing forest management in cyclone-prone areas.

Tropical cyclones, which are frequent along the north-eastern Australian coast, can result in severe disturbances to rain forests in the region (Grove et al. 2000, Webb 1958). Branch breakages and tree falls result in high levels of light penetration to the forest floor, which is normally heavily shaded (Turton 1992). This change in microclimate stimulates the growth of normally suppressed seedlings, the germination of seeds that are triggered by sunlight (Chazdon 1988), and often, invasion by weeds. Fragmented rain forests, that are common in the region, are particularly vulnerable to impacts of cyclones because of their large edge to forest area ratio. Appropriate management of such rain forests, following catastrophic disturbance, requires a thorough understanding of recovery processes at a number of temporal and spatial scales (Grove et al. 2000).