The Ecology of Snow and Snow-covered Systems: Summary and Relevance to Wolf Creek, Yukon

There is an increasing perception that northern ecosystems should be studied in a more integrative manner, in which individual studies make use of principles and results from related environmental disciplines. A recent addition to the integrative fields of study, snow ecology, is the science of the relationships between organisms and their environment whether it be in snow cover or snow-covered regions. Wolf Creek Research Basin is unequivocally qualified as a subject for the study of snow ecology because of its long snow-covered period>7 months, cold climate, largely intact ecosystem and representation of several northern Canadian biomes. In this paper, we discuss the role of snow as a factor in global climate and as a habitat for organisms with relation to its physical and chemical properties. The interactions between snow and micro-organisms, vegetation, and animals is also presented with emphasis on the capacity of individuals and communities to adapt to the cold. Finally we consider the role of snow and soil in the nutrient cycling of snow-covered ecosystems and the net losses and/or gains of nutrients by these systems during spring runoff. In doin