Snow damages on trees of an uneven age in mixed broadleaf forests: effects of topographical conditions and tree characteristics

Snow damage on natural stands is an important problem concerning mountainous forest management. In the present research, the frequency and intensity of heavy snow damage on natural stands and the relationship of damages with characteristics of trees, stand and topography were studied in mountainous forests of northern Iran. A systematic sampling design was applied to the study area (140 ha), with 122 circular plots. The grid dimension was 100 m and each plot area was 1000 m 2 . The four types of snow damage to trees include: crown damage (8.6%), stem breakage (5.4%), uprooting (3.2%), and bending (1.4%). The frequency of crown damage grew with an increase in the diameter at breast height (DBH), while the frequency of stem breakage, uprooting and bending decreased with an increase the DBH. The frequency of crown damage, stem breakage, and total damages was related to tree species ( p