Forest Canopy Density Effects on Snowpack Across the Climate Gradients of the Western United States Mountain Ranges

Sun, Ning; Yan, Hongxiang; Wigmosta, Mark S.; Lundquist, Jessica; Dickerson‐Lange, Susan; Zhou, Tian

doi:10.1029/2020wr029194

Title: Forest Canopy Density Effects on Snowpack Across the Climate Gradients of the Western United States Mountain Ranges

Journal Article · Thu Jan 06 00:00:00 EST 2022 · Water Resources Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2020wr029194· OSTI ID:1908324

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Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
Natural Systems Design, Seattle, WA (United States)

Abstract Controlled field experiments to disentangle the effect of canopy density from the effect of climate on snowpack dynamics are limited by the underlying linkage between canopy density and climate. Thus, based on observations alone, it is not well understood how variations in canopy density can affect snow processes under different climate regimes. To address this knowledge gap, this study uses a physics‐based modeling approach to evaluate the sensitivity of snowpack dynamics to variations in canopy density across the climate gradients of the Western U.S. as represented by 228 Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) sites. Within the model, we uniformly parameterize the canopy across sites to represent an idealized forest with high, medium, and low canopy density, respectively. The results illustrate that the effect of canopy density on the peak snow water equivalent (SWE) and duration of under‐canopy snowpack is sensitive to winter climate (i.e., climatological winter precipitation and temperature). As canopy density decreases, the greatest increase in peak SWE and snowpack duration is found in wet/warm and dry/cold climates, where snowpack under low‐density forest lasts longer than that in the open. In comparison, peak SWE and snowpack duration in wet/cold climates are less sensitive to changing canopy density. Thus, forest management actions (e.g., thinning and clearing) are likely to have disparate impacts on snow depending on local winter climate. Climate sensitivity of under‐canopy snowpack suggests that snowpack duration under dense canopy in presently warm winter climates is expected to experience the greatest reduction under a warming climate.

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Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office; USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 1908324

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1839798

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA-158006

Journal Information:: Water Resources Research, Vol. 58, Issue 1; ISSN 0043-1397

Publisher:: American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
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SNOTEL

Title: Forest Canopy Density Effects on Snowpack Across the Climate Gradients of the Western United States Mountain Ranges

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