Effects of Snowfall Fluctuation on Tree Growth and Establishment of Subalpine Abies mariesii near Upper Forest-Limit of Mt. Yumori, Northern Japan

Changes with altitude of the stand structure of temperate forests on Mount Norikura, central Japan

“…WI expresses the approximate effective heat for plant growth. WI is calculated as Kajimoto et al (2002). The mechanical damage includes flagged shape of crowns, tip dieback, broken stem and canopy anomaly with branch-lacking layers (cf.…”

“…The mechanical damage includes flagged shape of crowns, tip dieback, broken stem and canopy anomaly with branch-lacking layers (cf. Kajimoto et al 2002),. The mechanical damage is caused by strong wind and heavy snow in winter.…”

“…Thus, a comparison of trunk height-diameter allometry among different altitudes shows the altitudinal changes in the growth traits (e.g., Wang et al 2006). In addition, recently, some researchers showed that many trees in timberlines suffered severe mechanical damage due to strong wind and heavy snow (Kajimoto et al 2002(Kajimoto et al , 2004Seki et al 2005). Therefore, stand structural characteristics provide useful information to elucidate the altitudinal changes in regeneration.…”

Effects of wind and thermal conditions on timberline formation in central Japan: a lattice model

“…For example, coniferous trees are often damaged by snow pressure in Tohoku District, northern Japan (Yamanaka et al 1973;Ishizuka 1981). Kajimoto et al (2002) and Seki et al (2005) found that mechanical breakage of branches and stems by snow settlement and creep occurred in many A. mariesii trees in a much more snowy winter than the average at the timberline on Mount Yumori in northern Tohoku District, and that the growth and survival of damaged trees decreased in the subsequent years. They concluded that mechanical damage by snow settlement and creep was the primary factor affecting the timberline formation and wind-related stresses (e.g., winter desiccation, abrasion due to wind-blown ice particles, frost damage) were the secondary factor because mechanical damage due to snow settlement and creep was more frequently observed at their study site than mechanical damage due to strong wind in winter.…”

Effects of Snow Avalanche Disturbance on Regeneration of Subalpine Abies mariesii Forest, Northern Japan

“…On such snowy sites, individual trees suffer from snowloading damage (Yoshii, 1949;Ishizuka, 1981). For example, Kajimoto et al (2002) showed that intensive snow-loading damage occurred repetitively after snowy winters, and largely controlled both individual growth and stand development of A. mariesii near the upper forest-limits. Recently, Daimaru et al (2000) reported that snow avalanches occurred infrequently, but caused large-scale destruction in the upper or higher A. mariesii forests in this region, indicating that avalanche is an another important agent of snow-related disturbances.…”