Ice pruning is the natural process of selective vegetative pruning on the windward side of a plant, executed by the impact of ice and snow particles driven by wind.[1] The process is sometimes termed snow pruning. The time scale required for this phenomenon is typically over a multi-year growth period; moreover, a requirement to achieve the characteristic asymmetry is that prevailing winds during snow season has a decided bias in the wind rose.
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Ice pruning is often seen in far northern latitudes, such as locations above 50 degrees northern latitude. In parts of northern Canada, Black Spruce dominant forests demonstrate some individual trees that are distinctively ice pruned.[2]