Knowing how tree canopies affect snowpack is a key part of predicting water availability. Despite this importance, hydrologists are still working to accurately quantify how snow "intercepted" by tree canopies affects snowpack. Conifers, for instance, have been estimated to intercept more than half of all snowfall in some regions, at the expense of on-the-ground snowpack that's more likely to be part of summer melt. But hydrologic models struggle to accurately predict canopy snow, partly because of a lack of in-the-field quantification.
