Abstract
Forest damage due to accreted snow occurred in the Unnan region in the eastern part of Shimane prefecture on January 9-10, 2009. In this study, the distribution of the damaged stands and climatic conditions during that period was analyzed. The mean temperature of the area dropped from above 0℃ on the night of January 9 to below 0℃ on the morning of January 10. The precipitation in this area was also simultaneously recorded. Most of 356 damaged stands were located in the area between the mountains and plains. In particular, 52% of the damaged stands were located in Sada-cho, Izumo City. This area is located at a comparatively low altitude, at less than 400 m altitude, and no incidents of serious damage due to accreted snow have been previously reported for this area. Ninety-six percent of the damaged stands belonged to sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) forests. Most of the damaged stands belonged to age classes 5-7. The climatic conditions, species of the dameged trees, and age class of the damaged trees in the forest damaged during this period were similar to those reported in other region.
