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Articles containing the keyword 'snow damage'

Category : Article

article id 5618, category Article
Marja-Leena Nykänen, Marianne Broadgate, Seppo Kellomäki, Heli Peltola, Christopher Quine. (1997). Factors affecting snow damage of trees with particular reference to European conditions. Silva Fennica vol. 31 no. 2 article id 5618. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a8519
Keywords: stem breakage; stand management; snow accumulation; topography; risk assessment; snow damage; snowfall; risk model
Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Within the European Community snow damage affects an estimated 4 million m3 of timber every year, causing significant economic losses to forest owners. In Northern Europe, for example, the occurrence of snow damage has increased over the last few decades mainly due to the increase in total growing stock. The most common form of damage is stem breakage, but trees can also be bent or uprooted. Trees suffering snow damage are also more prone to consequential damage through insect or fungal attacks.

Snow accumulation on trees is strongly dependent upon weather and climatological conditions. Temperature influences the moisture content of snow and therefore the degree to which it can accumulate on branches. Wind can cause snow to be shed, but can also lead to large accumulations of wet snow, rime or freezing rain. Wet snow is most likely in late autumn or early spring. Geographic location and topography influence the occurrence of damaging forms of snow, and coastal locations and moderate to high elevations experience large accumulations. Slope plays a less important role and the evidence on the role of aspect is contradictory. The occurrence of damaging events can vary from every winter to once every 10 years or so depending upon regional climatology. In the future, assuming global warming in northern latitudes, the risk of snow damage could increase, because the relative occurrence of snowfall near temperatures of zero could increase.

The severity of snow damage is related to tree characteristics. Stem taper and crown characteristics are the most important factors controlling the stability of trees. Slightly tapering stems, asymmetric crowns, and rigid horizontal branching are all associated with high risk. However, the evidence on species differences is less clear due to the interaction with location. Management of forests can alter risk through choice of regeneration, tending, thinning and rotation. However, quantification and comparison of the absolute effect of these measures is not yet possible. An integrated risk model is required to allow the various locational and silvicultural factors to be assessed. Plans are presented to construct such a model, and gaps in knowledge are highlighted.

  • Nykänen, E-mail: mn@mm.unknown (email)
  • Broadgate, E-mail: mb@mm.unknown
  • Kellomäki, E-mail: sk@mm.unknown
  • Peltola, E-mail: hp@mm.unknown
  • Quine, E-mail: cq@mm.unknown
article id 5533, category Article
Reijo Solantie. (1994). Effect of weather and climatological background on snow damage of forests in Southern Finland in November 1991. Silva Fennica vol. 28 no. 3 article id 5533. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a9173
Keywords: snow damages; climate; precipitation; temperature; snow damage; snow cover; storms
Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Snow damage to forests in Southern Finland in November 1991 was examined in relation to meteorological conditions. The combined effect of different factors proved to be necessary for severe damage. First, the snow load, in terms of precipitation, should exceed a certain limit. The limit can be set for weak or moderate damage at about 40 mm and for very severe damage at about 60 mm. Second, temperature at the time of precipitation should be above 0°C, which enables the slightly wet snow to attach to twigs during the subsequent period with temperature below 0°C. On the other hand, temperatures exceeding 0.6°C prohibit damage by permitting the snow load to fall from the branches. Wind speed exceeding 9 ms-1, as observed 15 m above ground, were strong enough to dislodge the snow which is not attached, and thus reduce the damage. There are few statistics either of snow damage or of the relation between the snow damage and precipitation. However, there is causal connection between snow damage and heavy snowfalls. Therefore, the regions with a high frequency of heavy snowfalls, as indicated by orographical features and occurrence of thick snow cover, were investigated.

  • Solantie, E-mail: rs@mm.unknown (email)
article id 5523, category Article
Reijo Solantie. (1993). Snow and soil frost in Finnish forests. Silva Fennica vol. 27 no. 4 article id 5523. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a15684
Keywords: snow damages; Finland; ground vegetation; forest ecology; flora; snow cover; fauna
Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Abundant snowfalls and thick snow cover influence forest ecology mainly in two ways. Snow loading increases the number of damaged stems, which increases the amount of decay in stems, in its turn important for many animals. Second, the ground remains unfrozen under the snow cover, which is of crucial importance for many perennial species of ground vegetation. These winter phenomena also have influenced the early Finnish culture as man in his everyday life in the wilderness was in close contact with nature. In this paper, ecological interactions between snow conditions, forest flora, fauna and early culture are discussed mainly with reference to the province of Uusimaa in Southern Finland.

  • Solantie, E-mail: rs@mm.unknown (email)
article id 5088, category Article
Reijo Solantie, Kari Ahti. (1980). Säätekijöiden vaikutus Etelä-Suomen lumituhoihin v. 1959. Silva Fennica vol. 14 no. 4 article id 5088. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a15029
English title: The influence of weather on the snow damages for forests in Southern Finland in 1959.
Original keywords: Etelä-Suomi; lumituhot; sääolosuhteet; sääilmiöt; huurre
English keywords: snow damage; rime; weather conditions; Southern Finland; orographic precipitation
Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Snow and rime, attached to branches of conifers, seriously damaged forests in a region of 11,000 km2 in Southern Finland during a passage of two nearly occluded cyclones in 1959. The roles of different weather elements were studied by considering the variations occurring in them over this region and its surroundings. Damage occurred only inside an accentuated pattern of copious orographic precipitation. Precipitation only became attached to and retained on branches in such parts of the area where temperature varied on both sides of freezing point but did not exceed 0.6°C. Furthermore, damage only occurred in forests where rime formed (above a certain level and on sloping towards the prevailing wind).

The PDF includes a summary in English.

  • Solantie, E-mail: rs@mm.unknown (email)
  • Ahti, E-mail: ka@mm.unknown
article id 4707, category Article
Oiva Suominen. (1963). Metsiköiden alttius lumituhoon. Tutkimus Etelä-Suomessa talvella 1958-59 sattuneesta lumituhosta. Silva Fennica no. 112 article id 4707. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a14234
English title: Susceptibility of stands to devastation by snow. Investigation into snow devastation in Southern Finland in winter 1958-59.
Original keywords: lumituhot; mesätuhot; etelärannikko
English keywords: Finland; snow damage; forest damages; stem breakages
Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Exceptionally widespread snow damages occurred in January 1959 in the southern coastal region of Finland. An inquiry showed that significant devastation had occurred over an area of 42,620 ha. The purpose of the present investigation was to study the susceptibility to snow damages of different stands in different locations. Only the stem breakage was recorded. 924 stands along 92 one-kilometre lines were studied in the western continuation of Salpausselkä ridge in the summer 1960. A supplementary study was carried out in 1961 in separate stands.

Most heavily damaged stands were found in a damage zone closest (31–40 km) to the coast of Gulf of Finland. The damages were 39% fewer in the zone 61–70 km from the coast. No stands over 140 m above sea level escaped damage. Stands on the edge of an open area such as a field, lake etc. fared better than areas within the forest. Eastern slopes were more susceptible for snow damages in these weather conditions. Also, conifers were more frequently damaged than deciduous trees. Dense stands, and stands aged 61–100 years had most damages.

The PDF includes a summary in English.

  • Suominen, E-mail: os@mm.unknown (email)
article id 4546, category Article
Peitsa Mikola. (1938). Kuusen latvus- ja runkomuodosta Maanselän lumituhoalueella. Silva Fennica no. 47 article id 4546. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.a9071
English title: Crown and stem form of Norway spruce in the snow damage areas of Maanselkä in Northern Finland.
Original keywords: kuusi; Picea abies; latvusmuoto; lumituho; runkomuoto
English keywords: Norway spruce; northern Finland; Lapland; stem form; stem diameter; snow damage; crown form; crown shape; crown width
Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Finnish tree species have adapted differently to heavy snow loads that occur especially in fell areas in Kuusamo and Salla as well as Maanselkä area in Sotkamo and Rautavaara in Northern Finland. Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst. L) is adapted better than Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). The aim of this study was to investigate how crown and stem form of Norway spruce in the snow damage area of Maanselkä area differ from other areas in the same region.  

Relatively broad crown at the base of the stem, quickly tapering crown and narrow and even upper crown were typical for trees growing in the snow damaged areas. The higher the altitude is, the stronger tapering the crown is. The tapering begins usually in a height of 4-5 meters. Even the stem diameter begins to taper strongly at this height. In the areas where heavy snow does not cause snow damage, top of crown is broader. Also, in the snow damage areas the damaged trees seem to have broader crown shape than the trees with little damages.  

Height of the trees decreases in the snow damage areas compared to forests in lower altitudes, which can be caused both by wind and snow load. 

The article includes a German summary. 

  • Mikola, E-mail: pm@mm.unknown (email)

Category : Research article

article id 1120, category Research article
Ilari Lehtonen, Petri Hoppula, Pentti Pirinen, Hilppa Gregow. (2014). Modelling crown snow loads in Finland: a comparison of two methods. Silva Fennica vol. 48 no. 3 article id 1120. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.1120
Keywords: climate; forests; snow damage; rime; dry snow; wet snow; frozen snow
Highlights: A new method to model crown snow loads is presented and compared with a previously published simpler method; The heaviest crown snow loads in Finland are found to typically occur in the eastern parts of the country; The relative importance of different snow load types varies between different regions of Finland.
Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info
The spatial occurrence of heavy crown snow loads in Finland between 1961 and 2010 is studied by using for the first time a model that classifies the snow load into four different types: rime, dry snow, wet snow and frozen snow. In producing this climatology, we used meteorological observations made at 29 locations across Finland. The model performance is evaluated against classified daily images of canopy snow cover and with the help of two short case studies. The results are further compared to those achieved with a simpler method used in previous studies. The heaviest crown snow loads are found to occur typically in eastern Finland. The new method reveals that this holds not only for the total snow loads but also for the different snow load types, although there are certain differences in their geographical occurrence. The greatest benefit achieved with the new method is the inclusion of rime accretion. The forests most prone to heavy riming are those located on tree-covered hills in northern Finland, but as the terrain elevation affects riming efficiency greatly, these small-scale variations in the snow load amounts could not be described in this study in great detail. Moreover, the results are more inaccurate in northern Finland where variations in the terrain elevation are greater than elsewhere. Otherwise, the largest uncertainties in this study are related to wind speed measurements and possibly partly because of that, we were not able to detect any significant trends in the crown snow-load amounts over the study period.
  • Lehtonen, Finnish Meteorological Institute, P.O. Box 503, FI-00101 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: ilari.lehtonen@fmi.fi (email)
  • Hoppula, Finnish Meteorological Institute, P.O. Box 503, FI-00101 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: petri.hoppula@fmi.fi
  • Pirinen, Finnish Meteorological Institute, P.O. Box 503, FI-00101 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: pentti.pirinen@fmi.fi
  • Gregow, Finnish Meteorological Institute, P.O. Box 503, FI-00101 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: hilppa.gregow@fmi.fi
article id 138, category Research article
Santiago Martín-Alcón, José Ramón González-Olabarría, Lluís Coll. (2010). Wind and snow damage in the Pyrenees pine forests: effect of stand attributes and location. Silva Fennica vol. 44 no. 3 article id 138. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.138
Keywords: models; stand structure; conifers; Pyrenees; snow damages; stability; wind damages
Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info
Wind and snow-induced damage have been analyzed at stand level for three pine forests in the Central-Eastern Pyrenees (Pinus nigra Arn. salzmanii, Pinus sylvestris L. and Pinus uncinata Ram.). Stand-level models have been then developed for the most affected two species, Pinus sylvestris L. and Pinus uncinata Ram., to describe damage severity. The models were based on data from national forest inventory plots. They included variables related to the spatial location and structure of the stands, being validated using a sub-set of the database (25% of the plots randomly selected). Mountain pine forests (Pinus uncinata Ram.) were the most heavily affected by wind and snow disturbances. For both mountain and Scots pine species, topographic exposure and the severity of the local storm regime had an important effect on the degree of damage. Stand’s resistance to wind and snow was found to be dependent on the combined effect of basal area and mean slenderness of the dominant trees. For a given slenderness ratio, damage increased strongly in lower-density stands, particularly in stands with basal areas below 15 m2/ha. Stand structure was particularly important to define the resistance of Scots pine stands, which presented a higher vulnerability to wind and snow under higher degree of even-agedness. The models presented in this study provide empirically-based information that can be used to implement silvicultural practices to minimize the risk of those forests to suffer wind and snow-related damages.
  • Martín-Alcón, Forest Technology Center of Catalonia, Solsona, Lleida, Spain E-mail: santiago.martin@ctfc.es (email)
  • González-Olabarría, Forest Technology Center of Catalonia, Solsona, Lleida, Spain E-mail: jrgo@nn.es
  • Coll, Forest Technology Center of Catalonia, Solsona, Lleida, Spain E-mail: lc@nn.es

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