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Introduction

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Snow Mold

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Abstract

In cold-temperate region, plants are more frequently damaged by biotic factors, primarily snow mold, than by abiotic factors such as freezing. Snow mold is used here as a generic name for plant diseases that occur under snow cover. Many different fungi may be involved, and each snow mold fungus has its own ecological and physiological features. They normally infect and can prevail on plants under snow, but generally are dormant during other seasons. Their habitat under snow is characterized by constant low temperature, darkness, and high moisture. Snow mold fungi are, in general, opportunistic pathogens, which, in the absence of antagonists, attack plants depleted of reserve material. Such organisms which not only tolerate cold temperatures but thrive under such conditions are called “psychrophiles.” In the final section of this chapter, ambiguities in the use of the common term “psychrophile” are illustrated, and these are ascribed to the complex life cycles of different fungi. Another term, “cryophile,” may be more appropriate, to denote fungi, including snow mold fungi that prevail in the cryosphere.

figure a

Dr. Takao Araki who showed NM the significance of field observations and led him to a whole new world under snow; photograph taken circa 1978.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan

    Naoyuki Matsumoto

  2. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

    Tom Hsiang

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  1. Naoyuki Matsumoto
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Matsumoto, N., Hsiang, T. (2016). Introduction. In: Snow Mold. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0758-3_1

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