Editing Snow (section)

==Effects on plants and animals==
[[File:Chlamydomonas nivalis.jpg|thumb|right|Algae, ''[[Chlamydomonas nivalis]]'', that thrive in snow form red areas in the [[Suncup (snow)|suncups]] on this snow surface]]
Plants and animals endemic to snowbound areas develop ways to adapt. Among the adaptive mechanisms for plants are freeze-adaptive chemistry,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gusta |first1=Lawrence V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZWEpyNDefGkC&dq=plant+antifreeze&pg=PA26 |title=Plant Cold Hardiness: From the Laboratory to the Field |last2=Tanino |first2=Karen K. |last3=Wisniewski |first3=Michael E. |date=2009 |publisher=CABI |isbn=978-1-84593-513-9 |pages=19–27 |language=en}}</ref> dormancy, seasonal dieback, survival of seeds; and for animals are hibernation, insulation, anti-freeze chemistry, storing food, drawing on reserves from within the body, and clustering for mutual heat.<ref name = SnowEcology/>

Snow interacts with vegetation in two principal ways: vegetation can influence the deposition and retention of snow and, conversely, the presence of snow can affect the distribution and growth of vegetation. Tree branches, especially of [[conifer]]s intercept falling snow and prevent accumulation on the ground. Snow suspended in trees ablates more rapidly than that on the ground, owing to its greater exposure to sun and air movement. Trees and other plants can also promote snow retention on the ground, which would otherwise be blown elsewhere or melted by the sun. Snow affects vegetation in several ways, the presence of stored water can promote growth, yet the annual onset of growth is dependent on the departure of the snowpack for those plants that are buried beneath it. Furthermore, avalanches and erosion from snowmelt can scour terrain of vegetation.<ref name = Snowenclyclopedia/>

[[File:Fjellrev - Arctic fox (24490250823).jpg|thumb|right|[[Arctic fox]], a predator of smaller animals that live beneath the snow]]
Snow supports a wide variety of animals both on the surface and beneath. Many [[invertebrate]]s thrive in snow, including [[spider]]s, [[wasp]]s, [[beetle]]s, [[snow scorpionflies]] and [[springtail]]s. Such [[arthropod]]s are typically active at temperatures down to {{convert|-5|C}}. Invertebrates fall into two groups, regarding surviving subfreezing temperatures: freezing-resistant and those that avoid freezing because they are freeze-sensitive. The first group may be cold hardy owing to the ability to produce [[antifreeze]] agents in their body fluids that allows survival of long exposure to sub-freezing conditions. Some organisms [[Fasting|fast]] during the winter, which expels freezing-sensitive contents from their digestive tracts. The ability to survive the absence of oxygen in ice is an additional survival mechanism.<ref name = SnowEcology/>

Small [[vertebrates]] are active beneath the snow. Among vertebrates, [[alpine salamander]]s are active in snow at temperatures as low as {{convert|-8|C}}; they burrow to the surface in springtime and lay their eggs in melt ponds. Among mammals, those that remain active are typically smaller than {{convert|250|g}}. [[Omnivore]]s are more likely to enter a torpor or be [[Hibernate|hibernators]], whereas [[herbivore]]s are more likely to maintain food caches beneath the snow. [[Vole]]s store up to {{convert|3|kg}} of food and [[pika]]s up to {{convert|20|kg}}. Voles also huddle in communal nests to benefit from one another's warmth. On the surface, [[wolves]], [[coyotes]], [[fox]]es, [[lynx]], and [[weasel]]s rely on these subsurface dwellers for food and often dive into the snowpack to find them.<ref name = SnowEcology>
{{cite book
 | last = Jones
 | first = H. G.
 | title = Snow Ecology: An Interdisciplinary Examination of Snow-Covered Ecosystems
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | date = 2001
 | page = 248
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2GzOeAA7vucC&pg=PA248
 | isbn = 978-0-521-58483-8 }}</ref>