The effect of woody fuel characteristics on fuel ignition and consumption: a case study from a eucalypt forest in south-west Western Australia
J. J. Hollis A C , W. L. McCaw A and M. G. Cruz B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Science and Conservation, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Locked Bag 2, Manjimup, WA 6258, Australia.
B CSIRO, GPO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Present address: New South Wales Rural Fire Service, PO Box 2234, Queanbeyan, NSW 2620, Australia. Email: jennifer.hollis@rfs.nsw.gov.au
International Journal of Wildland Fire 27(5) 363-375 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF17174
Submitted: 13 December 2017 Accepted: 12 March 2018 Published: 15 May 2018
Abstract
Coarse woody debris (>0.6 cm in diameter) is an important component of the fuel complex in Australian eucalypt forests, influencing both fire behaviour, smoke production and post-fire ecological processes. We investigated how physical characteristics of woody fuel affected ignition and consumption during an experimental fire where the fuel complex characteristics, fire weather and fire behaviour varied within a narrow range. Decay status, bark condition, arrangement, suspension and extent of charring were classified for 2866 coarse woody fuel particles. We used generalised linear model (GLM) analysis to explain ignition success and the extent of consumption of individual particles, with a focus on larger diameter fuels (>7.5 cm in diameter), which comprised 83% of the woody fuel load and 94% of the woody fuel consumed during the flaming and smouldering stages of combustion. Ignition success was best explained by a model that included fuel arrangement (a surrogate of fuel proximity), suspension and decay status. The extent of fuel consumption was greater for pieces in advanced stages of decay, but suspension (inversely related) and arrangement (directly related) also affected the outcome. Forest management practices, previous fire history and other natural disturbances are likely to influence the distribution of pre-fire diameters and suspension classes that characterise large woody fuels at a site, and will therefore influence woody fuel consumption. This has practical implications for quantifying heat release and atmospheric emissions from fires burning in forests with different management histories.
Additional keywords: coarse woody debris, fire behaviour, prescribed burning, smoke emissions.
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