Influence of forest fires on climate change studies in the central boreal forest of Canada

This brief paper indicates that forest fires may have short and longer term effects on runoff and thus, can influence trend studies on the response of watersheds to climate change. Twenty-two watersheds at the Experimental Lakes Area in northwestern Ontario were studied to view the impacts of climatic variability and forest fires on runoff. A roughly 30 year database demonstrated few trends in climatological variables and even fewer trends in runoff data at the 5% significance level. Daily maximum temperature increased by 0.053 °C per year, while precipitation in the months of February and March showed significant decreases. Total snow showed a significant decrease over a 30 year period at the 8% significance level. The Mann Kendall test for trend was applied to the runoff indices of 19 watersheds and it was revealed that only six exhibited trends. Of these, five had been burned during the test period. Virtually all burned watersheds showed initial increases in runoff, however, long term runoff trended lower in the burned watersheds, while the one watershed that was not burned showed an increasing trend. Forest fires alter the age distribution of trees with subsequent impacts on water yields in the short and longer term.     

The simulation of heat and water exchange in the boreal spruce forest by the land-surface model SWAP

All previous versions of a physically based land-surface model SWAP have assumed for simplicity that vegetation is fully covered by snow during the cold season. Such assumption is reasonable only for the regions dominated by short vegetation or for warm climates where snow processes are absent. The major goals of this paper are (i) modification of the latest version of SWAP by incorporation of tall vegetation into the cold-season parameterizations to make the model applicable for simulating heat and water transfer within a boreal forest biome and (ii) validation of the modified version using the data from a forested catchment located in the boreal zone. Modification of SWAP required to parameterize radiative and turbulent exchange between the forest crown and forest floor, partitioning snowfall between interception by the canopy (in doing so, snow interception differs from rain interception) and falling to the ground, formation of snow cover on the forest crown and forest floor including snow accumulation (both in solid and liquid fractions), snow evaporation, and snowmelt. The advanced model was validated using a set of hydrometeorological data measured during 18 years (1966–1983) at the Tayozhniy catchment (covered by boreal spruce forest), Valdai, Russia. Simulations of annual and monthly snow/rain interception, daily runoff at the catchment outlet, snow density, snow depth, snow water equivalent, soil water storage in three layers (0–20, 0–50 and 0–100 cm), and monthly evapotranspiration from the catchment were compared with observations. Analysis of the results of validation shows that the new version of the model SWAP reproduces the heat and water exchange processes occurring in mid-latitude boreal forest quite reasonable.     

Analysis of snowpack dynamics during the spring melt season for a sub‐alpine site using point measurements and numerical modeling

Snowpack dynamics through October 2014–June 2017 were described for a forested, sub‐alpine field site in southeastern Wyoming. Point measurements of wetness and density were combined with numerical modeling and continuous time series of snow depth, snow temperature, and snowpack outflow to identify 5 major classes of distinct snowpack conditions. Class (i) is characterized by no snowpack outflow and variable average snowpack temperature and density. Class (ii) is characterized by short durations of liquid water in the upper snowpack, snowpack outflow values of 0.0008–0.005 cm hr^?1, an increase in snowpack temperature, and average snow density between 0.25–0.35 g cm^?3. Class (iii) is characterized by a partially saturated wetness profile, snowpack outflow values of 0.005–0.25 cm hr^?1, snowpack temperature near 0 °C, and average snow density between 0.25–0.40 g cm^?3. Class (iv) is characterized by strong diurnal snowpack outflow pattern with values as high as 0.75 cm hr^?1, stable snowpack temperature near 0 °C, and stable average snow density between 0.35–0.45 g cm^?3. Class (v) occurs intermittently between Classes (ii)–(iv) and displays low snowpack outflow values between 0.0008–0.04 cm hr^?1, a slight decrease in temperature relative to the preceding class, and similar densities to the preceding class. Numerical modeling of snowpack properties with SNOWPACK using both the Storage Threshold scheme and Richards' equation was used to quantify the effect of snowpack capillarity on predictions of snowpack outflow and other snowpack properties. Results indicate that both simulations are able to predict snow depth, snow temperature, and snow density reasonably well with little difference between the 2 water transport schemes. Richards' equation more accurately simulates the timing of snowpack outflow over the Storage Threshold scheme, especially early in the melt season and at diurnal timescales.     

Dissolved organic matter dynamics during the spring snowmelt at a boreal river valley mire complex in Northwest Russia

Boreal mire landscapes are rich in soil carbon and significantly contribute to the carbon input of aquatic ecosystems. They are composed of different mesoscale ecohydrological subunits, whose individual contributions to the water and carbon export of mire catchments are not well understood. The spring snowmelt period is the major hydrological event in the annual water cycle of the boreal regions and strongly influences the carbon flux between the terrestrial and aquatic systems. The aim of this study was (1) to provide a conceptual understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of the surface water chemistry along a swamp forest‐fen‐bog gradient during the snowmelt period, (2) to quantify the exported dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content in the runoff and (3) to identify the ecohydrological landscape unit that contributes most to DOC export during the snowmelt period in a heterogeneous mire complex in Northwest Russia. The highest DOC concentrations were detected in the swamp forest, and the lowest concentrations were observed at the treeless bog by the end of the snowmelt period (swamp forest: 37–43 mg l^?1, bog: 13–17 mg l^?1). During the spring snowmelt period, a significant amount (~1.7 g C m^?2) of DOC was transferred by the ~74 mm of runoff from the catchment into the river. Variability in the thawing periods led to differences in the relative contributions of each ecohydrological zone to the carbon export measured at a stream channel draining the studied part of the mire complex. An increased understanding of the variation in DOC concentrations and contributions from the mesoscale ecohydrological subunits to carbon export can help to predict the potential regional loss of DOC based on land cover type under climate change. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.