A permanent snow cover for several months is typical for large parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland. Snow layers thicker than about 20 cm insulate the soil surface and stabilize the ground temperature close to 0°C. Many ground-living invertebrates are active at this temperature in the subnivean air space. From this "base camp", some invertebrates migrate upwards to use the snow as a substrate. The intranivean fauna consists of springtails (Collembola) and mites (Acari) that are small enough to move within the narrow pores between snow crystals. The supranivean fauna consists of various invertebrates that are active on the snow surface. Some of them are Collembola that have migrated through the snow layers. However, most of them are larger insects and spiders which migrate between the subnivean and supranivean habitats following air channels which are naturally created along tree stems, bushes etc. penetrating the snow. Likewise, certain Chironomidae and Plecoptera, hatching from winter-open rivers and brooks, are active on the snow surface. The supranivean arthropod fauna has the following characteristics: 1. It is a weather dependent assemblage of species, coming and going with changes in air temperature, cloud cover, and wind. Below ca. -6°C animals are absent, but at temperatures around or above zero, many groups can be simultaneously active on snow. 2. The snow surface fauna shows phenological changes throughout the winter, as certain species and groups are mainly active during certain months. 3. Some invertebrates are highly specialized and take advantage of the snow surface as an arena in their life cycle. Examples are Hypogastrura socialis (Collembola), and the two wingless insects Chionea sp. (Diptera: Limoniidae) and Boreus sp. (Mecoptera). They use the smooth snow surface for efficient migration. Chionea sp. and Boreus sp. lay their eggs during the snow-covered period, while H. socialis migrates to create new colonies. The cold tolerant spider Bolephthyphantes index is unique in constructing webs in small depressions on the snow, to catch migrating Collembola. Various adaptations for using the snow as a substrate are discussed. Besides physiological and morphological adaptations, snow surface arthropods show special behavioural adaptations. Most conspicuous is the ability of several Collembola species to navigate during migration, using the position of the sun for orientation. Furthermore, in Collembola and Mecoptera, jumping as an original mechanism to escape predators has independently evolved into a migrating mechanism. An evolutionary potential exists for more invertebrate groups to take advantage of snow as a substrate in their life cycle. For instance, several more cold tolerant spiders might evolve the ability to catch migrating Collembola on snow.
The experimental basins in the Jizera Mountains were established at the beginning of the 1980th as a result of the forest devastation due to acid rain and repercussions of following human activities during its disposal with the aim to gain data for the quantification of runoff conditions changes in a changing environment. Seven small catchments with an area from 1.87 km2 to 10.6 km2 are situated in the spring regions in an elevation from 700 m a.s.l. to 1100 m a.s.l. in the catchments of the Černá Nisa, Kamenice, Jizerka and Směda streams. The long-term average annual temperature in the elevation of 780 m a.s.l. is +4.4°C, the long-term annual precipitation sum fluctuates between 1300 mm and 1800 mm. The Jizera Mountains are known for numerous intensive rainfalls in the summer period. The administrator of the experimental basins is the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI), Department of Hydrological Research, Experimental Base Jablonec nad Nisou, which performs all operative activities and basic processing of data. In the basins, the monitored elements are water stages and discharges in rivers, surface water quality, rainfall, snow depth and snow water equivalent and climatological parameters. The following contribution gives an overview of information obtained from the hydrological research in the period 1981 - 2004. and Příspěvek se zabývá přehledem poznatků z hydrologického výzkumu v období let 1982-2005 v experimentálních povodích Českého hydrometeorologického ústavu (ČHMÚ) v imisně poškozené oblasti Jizerských hor. Základnu tvoří 7 malých povodí s rozlohou od 1,87 km2 do 10,6 km2 celkové plochy 37 km2 . Všechna povodí leží ve vrcholové části Jizerských hor v Chráněné krajinné oblasti Jizerské hory, na rozvodí řek Labe a Odry. Nadmořská výška povodí se pohybuje mezi 700 až 1100 m. Správcem povodí je Oddělení hydrologického výzkumu, pracoviště Jablonec nad Nisou. Zpočátku byly práce zaměřeny převážně na získání co největšího počtu informací o srážkách, sněhu, množství a jakosti povrchové vody. Po roce 1995 byl monitoring rozšířen na více parametrů hydrologické bilance, sledování klimatických prvků a složek hydrologického procesu. Následně byl upřesňován jejich režim i jejich prostorové rozložení. Byla studována problematika rozdílnosti akumulace a odtávání sněhu na mýtině a v lese a odtoková a kvalitativní odezva na srážkovou činnost a tání sněhu. Za pomoci hydrologických a chemických modelů byly hledány odhady změn jejich závislosti na změně vegetačního pokryvu.