In this study, the snow conditions of South-Central Slovakia (Inner Western Carpathians; temperate zone) were analyzed to assess the suitability for ski slope operations without snow production under 1000 m a.s.l. For the study site of the Košútka Ski Centre, meteorological conditions for snowmaking, snowpack characteristics, and snow water equivalent (SWE) compared with seasonal precipitation were identified. To identify the months suitable for snowmaking, the number of potential snowmaking days (PSD) and the required number of snowmaking days (RNSD) were calculated for six winter seasons from 2010–2011 to 2015–2016. The results showed that the conditions of natural snow cover were not appropriate for ski slope operation because of a low natural snow depth. For the Košútka Ski Centre, it was concluded that the essential base layer snowmaking for ski slope operation is possible only for a few days in the winter season because of the increasing mean value of the mean average daily temperature and the consequently higher occurrence of liquid precipitation in the winter season. Essential high snow production results in the heterogeneous distribution of snow on the ski slope, and in high snow depth, density, and SWE of the ski slope snowpack, and in prolonged melting.

The aim of this work was to assess how forest ecosystems dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) or European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) affect snow water equivalent (SWE) in relation to aspect and elevation. The research plots were established in a small headwater watershed of the Hučava flow belonging to the Poľana Biosphere Reserve (Central Europe, Inner Western Carpathians). The SWE values in this watershed (approximately 580–1270 m a.s.l.) were monitored during the three winter seasons starting from 2012–2013 to 2014–2015. The results revealed high variability in SWE and in snow cover duration between the studied seasons. The spatial variability was significantly affected by the forest ecosystem, aspect and elevation. The seasonal mean SWE value was lower by about 50–60% in the spruce forests and by about 21–30% in the beech forests compared to the open areas (100%). Over the whole seasons, the whole watershed mean SWE value on the slopes with the northern aspect was mostly higher compared to the slopes with the southern aspect. The effect of aspect was significant mainly in the open areas and in the forests dominated by European beech during the ablation periods of every season. In the case of the sufficient snow cover, the mean SWE value always increased with elevation. The elevation gradient of SWE was steepest at the open areas of the watershed in the peaks of the winter seasons. The three-season mean value of SWE elevation gradient (per 100 m) at the time of snow accumulation peak was equal to 16 mm in the spruce forests, 20 mm in the beech forests and 26 mm in the open areas. The research revealed that SWE is significantly affected by the forest ecosystem whilst its effect is dependent on the occurrence of dominant deciduous or coniferous tree species. However, the effect of forests is closely related to topographic characteristics (aspect and elevation) of a locality.

Climate change affects snowpack properties indirectly through the greater need for artificial snow production for ski centers. The seasonal snowpacks at five ski centers in Central Slovakia were examined over the course of three winter seasons to identify and compare the seasonal development and inter-seasonal and spatial variability of depth average snow density of ski piste snow and uncompacted natural snow. The spatial variability in the ski piste snow density was analyzed in relation to the snow depth and snow lances at the Košútka ski center using GIS. A special snow tube for high-density snowpack sampling was developed (named the MM snow tube) and tested against the commonly used VS-43 snow tube. Measurements showed that the MM snow tube was constructed appropriately and had comparable precision. Significant differences in mean snow density were identified for the studied snow types. The similar rates of increase for the densities of the ski piste snow and uncompacted natural snow suggested that the key density differences stem from the artificial (machine-made) versus natural snow versus processes after and not densification due to snow grooming machines and skiers, which was relevant only for ski piste snow. The ski piste snow density increased on slope with decreasing snow depth (18 kg/m³ per each 10 cm), while snow depth decreased 2 cm per each meter from the center of snow lances. Mean three seasons maximal measured density of ski piste snow was 917 ± 58 kg/m³ the density of ice. This study increases the understanding of the snowpack development processes in a manipulated mountainous environment through examinations of temporal and spatial variability in snow densities and an investigation into the development of natural and ski piste snow densities over the winter season.

Recent improvements in soil moisture mapping using satellites provide estimates at higher spatial and temporal resolutions. The accuracy in alpine regions is, however, still not well understood. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of the experimental ASCAT-DIREX soil moisture product in a small alpine catchment and to identify factors that control the soil moisture agreement between the satellite estimates and in situ observations in open and forest sites. The analysis is carried out in the experimental mountain catchment of Jalovecký Creek, situated in the Western Tatra Mountains (Slovakia). The satellite soil moisture estimates are derived by merging the ASCAT and Sentinel-1 retrievals (the ASCAT-DIREX dataset), providing relative daily soil moisture estimates at 500 m spatial resolution in the period 2012–2019. The soil water estimates represent four characteristic timescales of 1, 2, 5, and 10 days, which are compared with in situ topsoil moisture observations. The results show that the correlation between satellite-derived and in situ soil moisture is larger at the open site and for larger characteristic timescales (10 days). The correlations have a strong seasonal pattern, showing low (negative) correlations in winter and spring and larger (more than 0.5) correlations in summer and autumn. The main reason for low correlations in winter and spring is insufficient masking of the snowpack. Using local snow data masks and soil moisture retrieval in the period December–March, improves the soil moisture agreement in April was improved from negative correlations to 0.68 at the open site and 0.92 at the forest site. Low soil moisture correlations in the summer months may also be due to small-scale precipitation variability and vegetation dynamics mapping, which result in satellite soil moisture overestimation.

In the last decade, dieback has affected not only non-native monoculture spruce forests at lower altitudes but also mountain spruce forests. For this reason, measurements of precipitation, throughfall, and surface runoff were carried out in the dead and living parts of the spruce forest, as well as in an open area with no trees. The dead stand was largely composed of standing dead trees. The goal of this study was to determine the values of surface runoff after dieback, considering the significant influence of precipitation amount and total forest interception. Canopy interception, total interception, and surface runoff were observed in a decline mature mountain spruce stand during three growing seasons: 2018–2020. This research was conducted at the upper forest line, at an altitude of 1,420 m a.s.l. in the western part of the Western Tatras. Data collection occurred at approximately two‐week intervals. The evaluated growing seasons began at the end of May and concluded at the end of October, with the exception of the growing season of 2020, when measurements finished at the beginning of October. Surface runoff represented the following average values for the growing seasons of 2018‐2020: 3.7%, 3.7%, and 8.1% in the living forest; 2.3%, 1.9%, and 3.0% in the dead forest; and 2.9%, 3.2%, and 3.2% in an open area, all relative to the recorded gross precipitation totals. Occult precipitation significantly influences canopy interception values in these locations, increasing the amount of throughfall recorded under the stand. Consequently, the average interception in the living forest during the growing season of 2020 was ‐1.1% of the gross precipitation total. Total interception reaches significantly higher values in both stands compared to canopy interception.