Difference in snowmelt processes between an opening and three Japanese cedar stands

Abstract

Snowmelt was measured on a daily basis for 17 days at the open site and 18 days at three Japanese cedar sites with canopy closure of 17.8% (cedar stand A), 5.2% (B) and 2.4% (C) in April. Measured daily snowmelt at each site was reproduced by heat-balance calculation with an accuracy of <±1 mm w.e. From 1st April to the date of snow disappearance net radiation accounted for 88.4, 43.0, 32.7 and 34.2% of total snowmelt energy at the open site, the cedar stands A, B and C, respectively. The ratio of sensible and latent heat to total snowmelt was 33.1–37.9 and 25.9–29.4%, respectively, at three cedar stands. The ratios of sensible and latent heat increased over time in accordance with the rise in temperature at all cedar sites. They became large on a daily basis when air temperature and/or wind speed were high. Wind speed is dependent on morphology around each site that also dictated snowmelt.

Snow Accumulation and Melt in Open and Forest Areas in a Snowy Temperate Region of Japan

“…Previous studies (e.g., Suzuki et al, 1999;Murakami and Takeuchi, 2018) investigating the characteristics of snow accumulation and melt in the open and the forest have mostly compared the energy balance during the snowmelt season. Few studies have analyzed the heat flux in forests over an entire winter season, including the severe winter months in Japan.…”

“…Several studies have investigated the characteristics of snow accumulation and melt in both open and forest areas (e.g., Suzuki et al, 1999;Murakami and Takeuchi, 2018), but most have been conducted in March and April. Few studies have examined the snowmelt process in forests during the severe winter period from December to February.…”