A “snowtography” test site has been installed in the Chicken Creek area to study the impacts of canopy cover and tree density on snowpack and soil moisture.

The project is a partnership with the Dolores Watershed Resilient Forest Collaborative, Dolores Water Conservancy District, The Nature Conservancy, San Juan National Forest and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The monitoring site in a ponderosa forest takes snow and soil moisture measurements in a thinned area, unthinned area and in the area in between, said Danny Margoles, coordinator with the collaborative.

Cameras positioned in the trees automatically capture images of snowfall at the test site.

“One of the questions is to what extent canopy shading has on snowpack and soil moisture,” he said.

The data will be useful to study water availability for trees in a drier climate, and snowpack runoff into area streams, he said.

Researchers cross-country ski to the site twice per month to gather the data.

The tool might help the Dolores Water Conservancy District to better predict runoff into streams and rivers that feed McPhee Reservoir.

A handbook has been created to assist researchers seeking to understand how the arrangement and density of trees, or the size and severity of disturbances affect snowpack persistence and soil moisture availability in forested headwater settings.

The handbook guides readers through the process of establishing their own cameras and soil moisture monitoring stations. It offers guidance about site selection, equipment requirements and installation.

The instructions are based on snow-forest research and hands-on experience at multiple sites in Arizona, and in the San Juan National Forest in Southwest Colorado. The project was supported by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation to The Nature Conservancy.

A webinar will take place Jan. 21 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sign-up is available at wwa.colorado.edu.

A recently released handbook can be viewed at azconservation.org.

jmimiaga@the-journal.com