Snow damages on trees of an uneven age in mixed broadleaf forests: effects of topographical conditions and tree characteristics

• Published in: Journal of forestry research Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 1383 - 1394
• Main Authors: Tavankar, Farzam, Lo Monaco, Angela, Nikooy, Mehrdad, Venanzi, Rachele, Bonyad, Amireslam, Picchio, Rodolfo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.08.2019; Springer; Springer Nature B.V; Department of Forestry, Khalkhal Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khalkhal, Iran%Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), Tuscia University, Via S. Camillo de Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy%Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Somehsara, Iran
• Subjects: Analysis; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Breakage; Damage; Elevation; Environmental protection; Forest management; Forestry; Forests; Forests and forestry; Life Sciences; Mixed forests; Mountains; Original Paper; Sampling designs; Silviculture; Snow; Soil depth; Sustainable forestry; Trees; Uprooting; Slenderness coefficient; Uprooting; Stem breakage; Snow damage; Mixed forest
• ISSN: 1007-662X; 1993-0607
• DOI: 10.1007/s11676-018-0710-x

Snow damage on natural stands is an important problem concerning mountainous forest management. In the present research, the frequency and intensity of heavy snow damage on natural stands and the relationship of damages with characteristics of trees, stand and topography were studied in mountainous forests of northern Iran. A systematic sampling design was applied to the study area (140 ha), with 122 circular plots. The grid dimension was 100 m and each plot area was 1000 m 2 . The four types of snow damage to trees include: crown damage (8.6%), stem breakage (5.4%), uprooting (3.2%), and bending (1.4%). The frequency of crown damage grew with an increase in the diameter at breast height (DBH), while the frequency of stem breakage, uprooting and bending decreased with an increase the DBH. The frequency of crown damage, stem breakage, and total damages was related to tree species ( p  < 0.01). Not all tree species were equally susceptible to snow damage. The amount of damage grew with increasing elevation and slope angle and decreased with increasing soil depth. Young trees (DBH < 25 cm) were more susceptible to snow damage than other trees. Snow damage decreased by as the trees in the stand became more mixed in age. The susceptibility of trees to snow damage increased by height and slenderness coefficient. With adequate silvicultural operation, snow damage can be reduced to a minimum level in these natural forests.