A Preliminary Assessment of Snowfall Interception in Arizona Ponderosa Pine Forest

From the Proceedings of the 1973 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - May 4-5, 1973, Tucson, ArizonaA preliminary assessment and ranking of the relative significance of five processes that may contribute to snow removal from ponderosa pine forest canopies was made, including wind erosion of canopy snow, snowslide from the canopy, stemflow, vapor transport from melt water, and vapor transport of canopy snow. The first three represent delayed delivery rather than net water loss. A snow load index was obtained through use of time lapse photography of the study site canopy, while incoming solar radiation and atmospheric processes were monitored. The snow load index was expressed as a ratio of forest canopy area covered with snow to the total canopy area. Results obtained over a 4-day period following a six-hour snowstorm showed that snow removal by snowslide and wind erosion was of significant importance, while vapor transport of melt water and canopy snow, stemflow, and dripping of melt water was of comparatively minor importance.This article is part of the Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest collections. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science and the University of Arizona Libraries. For more information about items in this collection, contact anashydrology@gmail.com