Variations in snowmelt energy and energy balance characteristics with larch forest density on Mt Iwate, Japan: observations and energy balance analyses
✍ Scribed by Kazuyoshi Suzuki; Takeshi Ohta; Atsushi Kojima; Tetsu Hashimoto
- Book ID
- 101284316
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1999
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 234 KB
- Volume
- 13
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0885-6087
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✦ Synopsis
The variation in snowmelt energy and energy components were evaluated with respect to forest density. Surface snowmelt rates, surface evaporation from snow cover and meteorological elements were measured in the open and under sparse (411 trees/ha) and dense (1433 trees/ha) larch canopies. The surface snowmelt rate decreased as the forest density increased. Based on the observations and energy balance analyses, we concluded the following. (1) Albedo decreased while the bulk coecient for latent heat increased with forest density. (2) The duration of snowmelt increased with forest density because the energy for nocturnal cooling of the snow cover decreased. (3) When comparing the open and forested sites, the changes in snowmelt energy with forest density were caused by sensible heat ¯ux. However, the contribution of net radiation was highest in the forested sites. Therefore, the eects of forest cover on the snowmelt energy were dierent when comparing both the open and forested sites and the sparse and densely forested sites. (4) The ratio of net radiation to snowmelt energy increased with forest density; although both snowmelt energy and net radiation decreased with increased forest density, the snowmelt energy decreased more rapidly. Sensible heat also decreased as forest density increased. Both albedo and downward long-wave radiation in¯uenced net radiation.