Surface Geometry of a Closed Conifer Forest in Relation to Losses of Intercepted Snow.

摘要

From snow studies too numerous to mention there is general agreement that much of the snow that accumulates on confer forests is evaporated into the air and thus never contributes to water yields. Quantitative estimates vary widely, from 9 inches water equivalent for some seasons at the Upper Columbia and Willamette Basin Snow Laboratories (U.S. Army 1956) to negligible in other areas, depending upon vegetative density, quantity and frequency of snowfall, and many other factors. The objective is to examine the process of snow interception in light of the involvement of geophysical and climatological processes within the peculiar geometry of snow held aloft by a conifer canopy, in contrast to the same processes acting on a snowfield on open, level ground. Perhaps an analytical contribution of this kind will stimulate research that will lead to a better understanding of snow interception, and ultimate to application in forest-land management for water yield.