Kształtowanie się pokrywy śnieżnej w sąsiedztwie zadrzewień śródpolnych

Abstract

Widely known effect of microclimate being changed byshelterbelts and, on the other hand, intensive evapotranspira-tion of trees are the reason behind the influence of shelterbeltson water budget of soil. This paper gives evidence that waterlosses close to shelterbelts may be equalized by snow reten-tion. Studies included 5 shelterbelts. The shelterbelts variedfor width, height, density, species composition and structure.Accumulation of snow was dependent on some parametersof shelterbelts: age, height, density, and occurrence of shrublayer. In the case of dense shelterbelts snow was accumulatedon the windward side, in the case of transparent on the lee-ward side, or inside of shelterbelt. The highest efficiency ofsnow accumulation was observed in the case of a 16 year-oldmixed shelterbelt. Water retention by a 100 m long section ofthis shelterbelt was estimated at 498 m3 (23 dm3 m-2). Othershelterbelts accumulated from 119 to 162 m3 of water. Esti-mations of effect of water conservation as snow were sup-ported by records of soil humidity after snowy winter. In thesurface layer of soil (up to 5 cm) the soil moisture was thehighest just near the shelterbelt and decreased linearly withincreasing distance from the shelterbelt (up to 80 m).