Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Talbot, J.
• Plamondon, A. P.
• Lévesque, D.
• Aubé, D.
• Prévos, M.
• Chazalmartin, F.
• Gnocchini, M.

Titel

Relating snow dynamics and balsam fir stand characteristics, Montmorency Forest, Quebec

Ist Teil von

• Hydrological processes, 2006-03, Vol.20 (5), p.1187-1199

Ort / Verlag

Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2006

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Wiley Online Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Snow water equivalent was measured during three springs on north‐ and south‐exposed sites representing a range of stand structure and development stages of Quebec's balsam fir forest. Maximum snow water equivalent of the season, mean seasonal snowmelt rate, snowmelt season duration and total snowmelt season degree‐day factor were related to canopy height, canopy density, light interception fraction and basal area of the stands using random coefficient models. Seasonal mean snowmelt rate was better explained by stand characteristics (R2 from 0·41 to 0·61) than was maximum snow water equivalent (R2 from 0·08 to 0·23). The best relationship was found with light interception, which explained 61% of snowmelt rate variability between stands. These relationships were not significantly affected by stand aspect (Pr ≥ S = 0·14 or higher), as snow dynamics seemed less dependent on aspect than on stand characteristics. Snowmelt recovery rates could be used by forest planners to establish an acceptable time step for the harvesting of different parts of a watershed in order to prevent peak flow augmentations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.