Suzuki, K; Kodama, Y; Nakai, T; Liston, GE; Yamamoto, K; Ohata, T; Ishii, Y; Sumida, A; Hara, T; Ohta, T (2011). Impact of land-use changes on snow in a forested region with heavy snowfall in Hokkaido, Japan. HYDROLOGICAL SCIENCES JOURNAL-JOURNAL DES SCIENCES HYDROLOGIQUES, 56(3), 443-467.

Abstract
We simulated snow processes in a forested region with heavy snowfall in Japan, and evaluated both the regional-scale snow distribution and the potential impact of land-use changes on the snow cover and water balances over the entire domain. SnowModel reproduced the snow processes at open and forested sites, which were confirmed by snow water equivalent (SWE) measurements at two intensive observation sites and snow depth measurements at the Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System sites. SnowModel also reproduced the observed snow distribution (from the MODIS snow cover data) over the simulation domain during thaw. The observed SWE was less at the forested site than at the open site. The SnowModel simulations showed that this difference was caused mainly by differences in sublimation. The type of land use changed the maximum SWE, onset and duration of snowmelt, and the daily snowmelt rate due to canopy snow interception. Citation Suzuki, K., Kodama, Y., Nakai, T., Liston, G. E., Yamamoto, K., Ohata, T., Ishii, Y., Sumida, A., Hara, T. Ohta, T. (2011) Impact of land-use changes in a forested region with heavy snowfall in Hokkaido, Japan. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(3), 443-467.

DOI:
0262-6667

ISSN:
10.1080/02626667.2011.565008