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International Journal of Wildland Fire International Journal of Wildland Fire Society
Journal of the International Association of Wildland Fire
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Chemical and dispersal characteristics of particulate emissions from forest fires in Siberia

Y. N. Samsonov A E , V. A. Ivanov B , D. J. McRae C and S. P. Baker D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Combustion, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia.

B Siberian State Technological University, Forest Institute, 660036 Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

C Canadian Forest Service, 1219 Queen Street East, Sault Ste Marie, ON, P6A 2E5, Canada.

D Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Missoula, MT 59807, USA.

E Corresponding author. Email: samsonov@kinetics.nsc.ru

International Journal of Wildland Fire 21(7) 818-827 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF11038
Submitted: 14 March 2011  Accepted: 12 February 2012   Published: 11 July 2012

Abstract

Approximately 20 experimental fires were conducted on forest plots of 1–4 ha each in 2000–07 in two types of boreal forests in central Siberia, and 18 on 6 × 12-m plots in 2008–10. These experiments were designed to mimic wildfires under similar burning conditions. The fires were conducted in prescribed conditions including full documentation on pre-fire weather, pre-fire and post-fire forest fuels, fire intensities, and other biological, physical and chemical parameters. The amount of particulate matter emitted during a typical fire averaged 0.6 t ha–1 and ranged within 0.2–1.0 t ha–1 depending on burning conditions. Particulates accounted for ~1–7% of the total mass of the consumed biomass during a typical forest fire (10–30 t ha–1 based on our data from 2000–07). Most of the particulate matter consists of organic substances, 77% on average, with a range of 70–90%. Elemental carbon averaged 8%, with a range of 2–18%. Trace element compositions and amounts of particulates indicate that there was no actual difference in the element emissions sampled from the fires conducted in the two forest types (6–8% in larch forest and 8% in pine forest). Most of the particulate matter, 90–95%, consists of submicrometre and near-micrometre particles ~0.1–5 μm in diameter.

Additional keywords: black carbon, chemical composition, elemental carbon, organic carbon, smoke particulate.


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