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<br />. <br /> <br />Effects of Weather Modification Upon Forest Insect and Diseases in the <br />American River Basin, Cal iforni a, II noted the impacts of a spectrum of <br />events or activities upon the forest. These were simil ar to those <br />considered in the Medicine Bow and San Juan studies, and included <br />fire, grazing, logging, mining, recreation, and other water management <br />activities. Assuming that cloud seeding would occur during years of <br />below- and near-normal snowfall and produce a 10 to 15 percent increase <br />in precipitation, Workshop I reached the following conclusions regarding <br />potential impacts on the forest: <br /> <br />IIIn normal years, cloud seeding will probably result in: <br />(1) soil moisture equal to or greater than that in unaugmented <br />years, (2) snowpacks of longer durat ion, and (3) a total <br />increase in precipitation that is very small compared to the <br />total for the area over any decade. <br /> <br />IIForest ecosystems at upper el evations are already adapted <br />to handle more I normal I wet winters than would presumably <br />occur during weather modification. Therefore, an increased <br />snowpack during 'dry' years probably will not induce I abnormal I <br />changes and might even result in an overall net benefit to <br />forest stands. <br /> <br />IIHowever, special circumstances should also be considered. <br />Subnormal precipitation years serve to Iweed outl root <br />diseased trees, suppressed trees, and trees marginally <br />adapted to given sites. If the periodic IIthinningll function <br />resulting from subnormal precipitation years is eliminated, <br /> <br />26 <br />