Relationship between the damage to tree shelters and snow depth in snowy cold regions

Abstract

Two types of tree shelters were installed in a cedar reforestation area with different snow cover for three years. Based on the results of snow depth and damage after snow melt, their snow resistance was compared, and the difficulty of their introduction in snowy and cold regions was discussed. In the case of a tube-type shelter with a material height of 170 cm, 50% of the shelters were damaged in the test site where snowfall of around 160 cm was constantly recorded, it was considered difficult to introduce the shelter without repair. In contrast, no damage was detected at test site where the maximum snow depth over the three year period was 85 cm, only 6.7％ shelters were damaged where the maximum snow depth was 75 cm. Therefore, if the annual snow depth was around 80 cm, introduction of a tube-type shelter seemed to be less of an obstacle. On the other hand, the number of damaged net-type shelters was higher than that of tube-type in all test sites, it was considered desirable to prioritize the use of tube-type in snowy and cold regions.