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Snow accumulation and snowmelt as influenced by a small clearing in a lodgepole pine forest
Author(s) -
Gary Howard L.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr010i002p00348
Subject(s) - clearing , snow , snowpack , snowmelt , environmental science , water equivalent , hydrology (agriculture) , temperate climate , atmospheric sciences , physical geography , geology , ecology , geography , geomorphology , biology , geotechnical engineering , finance , economics
Snow accumulation was observed under a thinned lodgepole pine stand about 35 feet tall and 80 years old for two winter seasons before and two seasons after cutting a clearing 1 tree height wide and 5 tree heights long. The clearing was on a gently sloping plateau 9000 feet above msl and was oriented perpendicularly to the prevailing southwest wind. The maximum snowpack water equivalent the first year after clearing averaged 13.1 inches in the upwind forest, 16.2 inches in the clearing, and 12.2 inches in the downwind forest zone. The snow accumulation pattern was similar the second year. The increased snow catch in the clearing was offset by the snow deficit in the downwind forest. The clearing affected the distribution of snow over the area but not the total amount of snow water equivalent. Melt rates in the clearing were about twice those in the interior forest zones. Near the middle of the melt season the clearing as a whole contained 12% less snow water equivalent than the interior forest.