Snow provides protection

#MiddleburyCT #Snow #MiddleburyLandTrust

Snow cover provides protection for plant roots as well as small mammals. Small mammals created the trails to and from the snow-blanketed grass clumps seen in this photo. (Pixabay photo)

By JANINE SULLIVAN-WILEY

Snow in Connecticut – that inevitable part of winter here – is loved by some and dreaded by others. In the natural world, it is pure bonus.

For plants and insects, snow provides a warm blanket that protects against the worst of winter cold. But how can something that is frozen, and therefore by its very nature cold – be warm? It helps to think of the insulating properties of air. It’s the air trapped within the down in a down coat that actually keeps you warm, not the down itself.

And snow, with its beautiful crystalline structure, is quite good at trapping air when it piles up. Did you ever crawl into a snow fort, and notice how it was warmer than outside? If so, you experienced the insulating properties of snow. Polar bears living in the frigid north rely on that for denning and safely giving birth to and raising their newborn cubs.

Here in the less-frigid climate of Connecticut, we don’t have to deal with daytime temperatures way below freezing for weeks at a time, but animals, plants and insects still benefit from snow cover. (Fun fact: there is a word for this under-snow world: the subnivium.)

For beneficial insects we love, persistent snow cover is good news. They may winter over in the tiny tubular spaces inside plant stems, or in leaf and plant litter on the ground, where snow provides yet another insulating factor. For insects we prefer would not survive – like ticks – it has, sadly, the same protective effect.

For plants, a snow layer that persists provides a blanket that buffers their roots from repeated freezing and thawing, which can shove them clean out of the ground. You may have noticed this if you planted something late in the season, before the roots had a good chance to tie themselves securely into their surrounding soil.

For animals, the benefits are similar. The tiny species that form the base of the food chain rely on snow cover for warmth and protection. Brush piles or downed trees make the snow even more protective: little creatures can safely and comfortably scurry about, eating their cached seeds while protected from the worst of winter’s assaults. You may even spot the trails they have frequented after the snow melts, imprinted in the grass.

Of course, predators have evolved their own strategies for dealing with their hidden prey: both owls and foxes are exceptionally skilled at tracking and then grabbing mice and voles as they make their way along the ground under the snow cover. Weasels also may hunt them under the snow, and they are small enough to follow even some of the underground tunnels.

If all this talk of snow is making you feel cold, astronomical winter starts December 21 with the winter solstice. So yes, the cold and snow begin to ramp up. But a glimmer of light for that dark day: from December 22 onward, daylight minutes and day length begin to increase. Why the days grow colder as the light grows longer is a subject for another day.

Contact this writer at jswspotlight@gmail.com. You can visit the Middlebury Land Trust on Facebook or the website at middleburylandtrust.org. Happy hiking!