Effect of Cloud Seeding in Winter on Soil Moisture and Forest Fire Risk in Spring: A Case Study for Eastern Mountain Region in Korea

Abstract

Study region: The Doam Dam basin in Gangwon Province, South KoreaStudy focus: This study aims to evaluate the effect of winter snowfall on the soil moisture and forest fire risk in the early spring. It also seeks to understand the possible role of cloud seeding in winter. A snowfall-runoff analysis model is used to simulate the relationship between winter snowfall and spring soil moisture. The forest fire risk index is selected to estimate the forest fire risk. As a result, this study is going to propose the amount of artificial snowfall required to achieve a significant contribution to decrease the forest fire risk.New hydrological insights for the region: (1) Snowfall in winter is found to have a significant impact on the soil moisture in spring, depending on the amount of snowfall lasting until May; (2) Forest fire risk is found to be inversely proportional to the soil moisture level during Spring; (3) Artificial snowfall in winter is found to lead the increase of soil moisture and the decrease of forest fire risk in spring; (4) Sensitivity analysis shows that approximately 27 mm of winter precipitation, as a form of snowfall, is necessary to suppress the forest fire risk in the study basin under moderate level.

Keywords: cloud seeding, soil moisture, forest fire risk index, PRMS model, WRF model