Scales of snow depth variability in high elevation rangeland sagebrush

Abstract

In high elevation semi-arid rangelands, sagebrush and other shrubs can affect transport and deposition of wind-blown snow, enabling the formation of snowdrifts. Datasets from three field experiments were used to investigate the scales of spatial variability of snow depth around big mountain sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) at a high elevation plateau rangeland in North Park, Colorado, during the winters of 2002, 2003, and 2008. Data were collected at multiple resolutions (0.05 to 25 m) and extents (2 to 1000 m). Finer scale data were collected specifically for this study to examine the correlation between snow depth, sagebrush microtopography, the ground surface, and the snow surface, as well as the temporal consistency of snow depth patterns. Variograms were used to identify the spatial structure and the Moran’s I statistic was used to determine the spatial correlation. Results show some temporal consistency in snow depth at several scales. Plot scale snow depth variability is partly a function of the nature of individual shrubs, as there is some correlation between the spatial structure of snow depth and sagebrush, as well as between the ground and snow depth. The optimal sampling resolution appears to be 25-cm, but over a large area, this would require a multitude of samples, and thus a random stratified approach is recommended with a fine measurement resolution of 5-cm.

Keywords

snow hydrology / high elevation rangelands / spatial statistics / variograms / snow pack spatial variability / snow drifts

Molly E. Tedesche has a BS in civil engineering technology from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Rochester, NY, USA, and an MS in watershed science from Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, CO, USA.

She is has worked as an Engineer, Snow Hydrologist, and in Forestry; as well as an Environmental Scientist and Science Educator. She is currently pursuing a PhD in hydrology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). Her research interests include snow hydrology, arctic hydrology, remote sensing, climate science, and impacts of these on people in remote and rural communities.

Ms. Tedesche is an active member of the American Water Resources Association (AWRA), the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the American Association of University Women (AAUW), and the Arctic Institute of North America (AINA). She has won graduate student fellowships from NASA, NSF, AWRA, AINA, National Park Service, and was a US Fulbright scholar.

E-mail: [e-mail]

Steven R. Fassnacht has a BASc, MASc, and PhD in civil engineering from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada; where he focused on water resources, sediment transport, hydraulics, and hydrology.

He has worked as a Snow Hydrologist and Researcher, as well as an Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor. He is currently a Professor of Snow Hydrology at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO and a Visiting Professor at the Geographisches Institut of Georg-August-Universität in Göttingen, Germany. His research interests include improving our understanding of snow and cold land hydrological processes, especially considering different complexities of models.

Dr. Fassnacht has served as a scholarship committee chair at CSU, as an associate editor of Water Resources Research, on the advisory board of Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica, and as the President of the Eastern Snow Conference. He is currently advising eight graduate students, including five PhD students and three MS students.

E-mail: [e-mail]

Paul J. Meiman has a BS in range management and an MS in rangeland ecology and watershed management from the University of Wyoming (UW) in Laramie, WY, USA. He also has a PhD in rangeland ecosystem science from Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, CO, USA.

He has worked as a Researcher in Rangeland Management and is currently an Associate Professor of Rangeland Ecosystem Science in the Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship at CSU. His research interests include the ecology and management of rangelands; including invasive plants, riparian areas, and livestock grazing.

Dr. Meiman has been an advisor for many students at CSU over the years, has served as faculty advisor for the CSU Rangeland Ecology Club, won the Early Career Teaching Award from the Range Science Education Council and was recognized by the Society for Range Management as an Outstanding Young Range Professional.

E-mail: [e-mail]

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Christopher Hiemstra for providing the 2008 CIRA dataset, all the people who helped collect the CLPX data, and all the Colorado State University students who helped collect the WSD data. Thanks are also due to a Warner College of Natural Resources mini-grant in 2007 that provided the initial funding to start this research. Discussions and a field excursion with Dr. James R. Meiman were quite useful, and we thank him for his insight.

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