In deciduous forests most of the snow accumulates on the ground with little held by the trees. Therefore, the ground freezes hardest in a coniferous forest. Since it is difficult for the sun to warm the ground in such a dense forest, the ground tends to remain frozen quite late in spring. In a deciduous forest, the soil is covered with snow, keeping soil temperatures higher. Usually there is also a large accumulation of organic matter around the trees.
Organic matter can absorb large quantities of moisture as snow melts, therefore runoff is decreased.
To a certain degree we can control the soil temperature on our own properties through the type, number and placement of trees. Properly placed windbreaks can shield the garden from blasts of wind as well as prevent snow from blowing off in areas where it is needed. In addition, piling organic mulch over the garden in winter acts in the same way as the forest organic debris described above. A meteorologist at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia checked back through old weather records and discovered that in five out of six cases a wet summer was followed by a snowy winter. In contrast, a dry summer had been followed by a winter with little snow cover.