Comparing three sampling techniques for estimating fine woody down dead biomass
Robert E. Keane A C and Kathy Gray B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory, 5775 W US Highway 10, Missoula, MT 59808, USA.
B California State University at Chico, Department of Math and Statistics, 400 West 1st Avenue, Chico, CA 95929-0525, USA. Email: klgray@csuchico.edu
C Corresponding author. Email: rkeane@fs.fed.us
International Journal of Wildland Fire 22(8) 1093-1107 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF13038
Submitted: 13 March 2013 Accepted: 22 May 2013 Published: 23 August 2013
Abstract
Designing woody fuel sampling methods that quickly, accurately and efficiently assess biomass at relevant spatial scales requires extensive knowledge of each sampling method’s strengths, weaknesses and tradeoffs. In this study, we compared various modifications of three common sampling methods (planar intercept, fixed-area microplot and photoload) for estimating fine woody surface fuel components (1-, 10-, 100-h fuels) using artificial fuelbeds of known fuel loadings as reference. Two modifications of the sampling methods were used: (1) measuring diameters only and both diameters and lengths and (2) measuring diameters to (a) the nearest 1.0 mm, (b) traditional size classes (1 h = 0–6 mm, 10 h = 6–25 mm, 100 h = 25–76 mm), (c) 1-cm diameter classes and (d) 2-cm classes. We statistically compared differences in sampled biomass values to the reference loading and found that (1) fixed-area microplot techniques were slightly more accurate than the others, (2) the most accurate loading estimates were when fuel particle diameters were measured and not estimated to a diameter class, (3) measuring particle lengths did not improve estimation accuracy, (4) photoload methods performed poorly under high fuel loads and (5) accurate estimate of fuel biomass requires intensive sampling for both planar intercept and fixed-area microplot methods.
Additional keywords: fixed-area plot, fuel inventory, fuel loading, line intersect, monitoring, photoload, planar intercept.
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