Modelling the effects of forest disturbances on snow accumulation and ablation in the Okanagan

Abstract

Forest disturbances significantly affect snowmelt dominated watersheds. Given that snowmelt from mountain regions provides up to 80% of the annual stream ow in the North American west, disturbances in these watersheds will impact water availability for downstream users. This study used eld data from stand-scale studies to represent forest disturbances in a hydrological model in order to quantify the potential snow hydrology response to varying spatial extent of disturbance. The sensitivity of snow accumulation and ablation response increased with disturbance severity and extent of disturbance. Results may provide water resource management with a greater understanding of the potential impact on post-disturbance snowmelt runo ff.