Forests store up to 30 per cent of the snow in winter
Keystone-SDA
Forests hold on to around 20-30% of winter snowfall, playing a key role in how much water is available later on. Researchers at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) have been looking into how this process works.
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The study, published on Wednesday, finds that forests do more than just hold on to snow: they also affect how it melts. Both the structure of the forest and the shape of the land play an important role.
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The research concludes that snow melts faster on north-facing slopes than on forested south-facing ones. This effect is especially noticeable in winters with low snowfall. In open terrain, however, the pattern is reversed.
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One reason snow melts more quickly on north-facing slopes is simply that there is less of it to begin with, the report says. On south-facing slopes, by contrast, the shade from trees slows the thaw, meaning snow in forested areas there tends to linger for longer.
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