Trends in the average annual snow depth in various forest zones of Russia

Abstract

Snow cover is one of the important indicators of changes in weather and climate indicators that have a huge impact on the forests of Russia. The article analyzes changes in the average annual depth of snow cover in the period from 1966 to 2018. We used data from 23 meteorological stations located in 20 modal regions of Russia, reflecting the diversity of forest growth conditions in the country. For ease of analysis the indicators were grouped by decade (1966-1970, 1971-1980, 1981-1990, 1991-2000, 2001-2010, 2011-2018), for the main 30-year periods (1966-1990, 1991-2018) and for the last two five-year periods (2009-2013, 2014-2018). The results of the analysis show that the current trend of increasing the average annual snow depth on the territory of Russia, when compared with the base period of 1966-1990 manifests itself in the absolute majority of observation points. Only in two points – on the coast of the Baltic (26063 Saint Petersburg) and White (22550 Arkhangelsk) sea, it is not so pronounced. The nature of the dynamics of the average annual snow depth has zonal features and similarities within the forest zones of Russia.