Snowfencing for mined-land rehabilitation

TitleSnowfencing for mined-land rehabilitation
Publication TypeConference Proceedings
Year of Conference1983
AuthorsVan Haveren, B. P.
Conference Name51st Annual Western Snow Conference
Series TitleProceedings of the 51st Annual Western Snow Conference
Date PublishedApril 1983
PublisherWestern Snow Conference
Conference LocationVancouver, Washington
KeywordsSnow fence, Vegetation response
Abstract

Snowfences twenty-four inches in height were installed at a coal mine reclamation site in northern Colorado. Snow depth and water content, soil water by volume, and vegetation response have been measured for four years on both fenced and unfenced reclamation plots. After fall seeding of the plots in 1979, the average peak snow depth during the 1979-80 winter on the fenced plots was 13 inches compared to 3 inches on the unfenced plots. For the 1981-82 winter season the peak snow depth averaged 11 and 8 inches for fenced and unfenced plots, respectively. The difference in snow accumulation between fenced and unfenced decreased in 1982 due to the vegetation establishment on all plots. Results of soil water and vegetation response are in the process of being analyzed.

URLsites/westernsnowconference.org/PDFs/1983Van Haveren.pdf