Variable effects of forest canopies on snow processes in a valley of the central Spanish Pyrenees |
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| Authors: | Alba Sanmiguel-Vallelado Juan I López-Moreno Enrique Morán-Tejeda Esteban Alonso-González Francisco M Navarro-Serrano Ibai Rico J Julio Camarero |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Geoenvironmental Processes and Global Change, Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, IPE-CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain;2. Department of Geography, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain;3. Department of Geography, Prehistory and Archaeology, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain |
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| Abstract: | Snowpacks and forests have complex interactions throughout the large range of altitudes where they co-occur. However, there are no reliable data on the spatial and temporal interactions of forests with snowpacks, such as those that occur in nearby areas that have different environmental conditions and those that occur during different snow seasons. This study monitored the interactions of forests with snowpacks in four forest stands in a single valley of the central Spanish Pyrenees during three consecutive snow seasons (2015/2016, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018). Daily snow depth data from time-lapse cameras were compared with snow data from field surveys that were performed every 10–15 days. These data thus provided information on the spatial and temporal changes of snow–water equivalent (SWE). The results indicated that forest had the same general effects on snowpack in each forest stand and during each snow season. On average, forest cover reduced the duration of snowpack by 17 days, reduced the cumulative SWE of the snowpack by about 60% and increased the spatial heterogeneity of snowpack by 190%. Overall, forest cover reduced SWE total accumulation by 40% and the rate of SWE accumulation by 25%. The forest-mediated reduction of the accumulation rate, in combination with the occasional forest-mediated enhancement of melting rate, explained the reduced duration of snowpacks beneath forest canopies. However, the magnitude and timing of certain forest effects on snowpack had significant spatial and temporal variations. This variability must be considered when selecting the location of an experimental site in a mountainous area, because the study site should be representative of surrounding areas. The same considerations apply when selecting a time period for study. |
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| Keywords: | mountain forest snowpack spatial and temporal variability SWE |
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