The following article was written by Jess Johnsrud, the Education Coordinator at the Woodland Dunes Nature Center.
We are getting to the point in winter when we start to resent the snow and cold. This is especially true when we have several days of mild weather and then experience a snowfall. We’ve had mild weather recently, but we live in Wisconsin and we are due for a couple more rounds of cold and snow before spring. I even find myself starting to long for the warmer days of spring and summer, but then I remember that snow and cold temperatures play an important role in our environment.
Snow cover acts as a blanket and insulates the ground, holding heat and moisture and protecting perennial plants from cold. There’s an entire world living under the surface of the snow, in what is called the subnivean zone. This zone exists between the ground and the bottom of the snowpack and it only takes about six inches of snow for this zone to come to life. Voles, shrews and mice tunnel through the subnivean zone, feeding on leaves, seeds and invertebrates (creatures that lack a backbone). Yes, there are invertebrates actively living under the snow. Spiders, snow fleas, and other bugs are active in this zone even when the temperatures above ground are below zero. As you can imagine, all this life draws more life. Predators like weasels and fox hunt for the voles and small mammals in the subnivean zone.
Beyond the habitat it creates, the snow that melts in the spring recharges our groundwater, rivers, and other waterways. It also creates essential breeding habitat for many amphibian species such as the wood frog and the blue-spotted salamander. These ephemeral pools fill in the spring and eventually dry up in summer. They are critical breeding grounds for many amphibians because they lack fish, which would prey on the amphibians’ eggs.
The snow and cold weather support recreational activities like skiing, snowshoeing, ice fishing and snowmobiling. I have yet to play on a sledding hill with my nephews this winter, but I sure hope I get the opportunity before spring makes her entrance.
Even though I long for spring, I know the snow is an important part of our environment. I can still appreciate the season and be grateful for any future snowfall that is inevitably coming our way.
