Northeast Winters in an Era of Climate Change: Forests and the Future of Snowy Landscapes

Wishing we could have more classic snowy winters like you remember from your childhood? Believe it or not, forests may hold the key to realizing this possibility. A recent publication in Ecosphere authored by a NE CASC research team including Toni Lyn Morelli, Anthony D’Amato, and Alexej Siren highlights opportunities for keeping snow on the landscape in an era of warming winters.  The team monitored snow conditions in sites around New England to determine how forest composition affects snow penetration in the fall and snowmelt in the spring. They found that stands with coniferous and deciduous trees can serve as snow refugia, areas that allow more snow early in the season and facilitate its persistence as spring approaches. 

The article’s lead author, Melissa Pastore of the USDA Forest Service notes, "We’re finding that tree canopies in deciduous and mixed forests, which are common in New England, affect snowpack differently than those in coniferous forests, because deciduous trees lose their leaves in the fall. Our study points to a sweet spot of intermediate canopy cover – enough to shelter snowpack from the sun and wind while still allowing snowfall to reach the ground." Forest managers can use these results to manage stands that are particularly important for holding snow for wildlife and recreation, or to increase ecological diversity on the landscape as snowpack decreases with increasing warming.