The influence of forest stand characteristics on snow interception in the coastal forests of British Columbia

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Abstract
The capability of forest stands to intercept snow is an important factor in determining management prescriptions for such hydrologically related phenomenon as avalanches, floods, and water supply as well as suitability for ungulate winter habitat. This study tested the hypothesis that snow interception can be predicted as a function of various stand characteristics and storm sizes. The dependent variable was fresh snow depth under the forest canopy; the independent variables were crown completeness, crown length, crown width, basal area per hectare, tree height, tree density, and storm size. Ten stands were selected for study from two locations on Vancouver Island. Snow depth was monitored over 24 storms ranging from 1.4 to 38.0 cm. The best simple linear regression models that incorporated forest variables were those for individual storms, with fresh snow expressed as a function of mean crown completeness. The best assessments of a particular stand's capability to intercept snow were made using an equation with both storm size and mean crown completeness as independent variables.

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