Abstract: The majority of water in western North America comes from snowmelt in forested m ecosystems. A variety of factors influence snow accumulation and ablation rates with particular importance on s solar radiation and albedo. Forest canopy cover and forest structure are known to change solar radiation and change snow ablation rates. Snow albedo in southwestern mountains is heavily influenced by dust deposition. Some studies have also begun to investigate that there are significant changes in snow albedo in burnt forests, however, few studies have documented snow albedo changes in unburnt, green forests and thus quantifying interactions between forest structure and dust deposition. Here, we employ a robust field study that utilizes natural forest structure variation and forest management practices to study how forest structure influences snow albedo and subsequent ablation rates. We found that the position of forest structure relative to incoming solar radiation and tree density significantly influence snow ablation rates and that dust deposition was higher in more open forested areas away from more dense forests. Since forest management practices are increasingly being used to preserve water resources, these findings add depth and complexity to the factors that influence snow ablation rates.
