Snow accumulation on evergreen needle-leaved and deciduous broad-leaved trees

We conducted laboratory experiments on the accumulation of snow on the canopies of small evergreen needle-leaved (Picea glehnii) and deciduous broad-leaved (Betula ermanii) trees using an artificial snowfall machine in a cold room. The maximum snow storage was 1.6 to 7.4 mm for Picea glehnii and 1.0 to 3.1 mm for leafless Betula ermanii under a constant snowfall rate of 1 mm h -1 (water equivalent). The maximum canopy snow storage and the fraction of direct through-fall were parameterized using the plant area index (PAI). We used these parameters in a canopy snow model and estimated the canopy snow storage of a coniferous evergreen needle-leafed forest using this model. The model reproduced the daily canopy snow storage within a relative error of 0.35. A sensitivity analysis using this model showed that the PAI was one of the most important parameters for the estimation of canopy snow storage. Further study is needed on mass release and melt of canopy snow.