Ecological responses to variation in seasonal snow cover.

Abstract

Seasonal snow is among the most important factors governing the ecology of many terrestrial ecosystems, but rising global temperatures are changing snow regimes and driving widespread declines in the depth and duration of snow cover. Loss of the insulating snow layer will fundamentally change the environment. Understanding how individuals, populations, and communities respond to different snow conditions is thus essential for predicting and managing future ecosystem change. We synthesized 365 studies that have examined ecological responses to variation in winter snow conditions. This research encompasses a broad range of methods (experimental manipulations, natural snow gradients, and long-term monitoring approaches), locations (35 countries), study organisms (plants, mammals, arthropods, birds, fish, lichen, and fungi), and response measures. Earlier snowmelt was consistently associated with advanced spring phenology in plants, mammals, and arthropods. Reduced snow depth also often increased mortality and/or physical injury in plants, although there were few clear effects on animals. Neither snow depth nor snowmelt timing had clear or consistent directional effects on body size of animals or biomass of plants. With 96% of studies from the northern hemisphere, the generality of these trends across ecosystems and localities is also unclear. We identified substantial research gaps for several taxonomic groups and response types, with notably scarce research on winter-time responses. We present an agenda for future research to prioritize understanding of the mechanisms underlying responses to changing snow conditions and the consequences of those responses for seasonally snow-covered ecosystems. Article impact statement: Winter-time research is needed to provide the evidence base for managing seasonally snow-covered ecosystems with declining snow cover. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.