Quantifying the effect of mastication on flaming and smouldering durations in eucalypt forests and woodlands under laboratory conditions
J. G. Cawson A C , B. Pickering A , T. D. Penman B and A. Filkov BA School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne, 500 Yarra Boulevard, Burnley, Vic. 3121, Australia.
B School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne, 4 Water Street, Creswick, Vic. 3363, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: jane.cawson@unimelb.edu.au
International Journal of Wildland Fire 30(8) 611-624 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF20157
Submitted: 25 September 2020 Accepted: 27 April 2021 Published: 19 May 2021
Abstract
Mechanical mastication is growing in popularity as a wildfire mitigation technique. Yet few studies quantify its effects on fire behaviour. Such information is needed by fire managers to evaluate its efficacy. Our aim was to develop an understanding of how mastication alters flaming and smouldering durations and the longevity of any effects. Flaming and smouldering duration are important determinants of soil heating and smoke emissions. We used a paired sampling design, collecting litter bed (hereafter surface fuel) samples from 15 sites with masticated and untreated vegetation in shrub-encroached Eucalyptus woodlands. We measured a range of fuel bed properties and then burnt the samples in the laboratory. Average smouldering durations increased 88% from 25 to 47 min in untreated v. masticated fuel; flaming durations increased 100% from 6 to 12 min. These changes were attributable to higher fine and coarse fuel loads in the masticated fuel bed. However, fine and coarse fuel load declined significantly over 4 years, meaning the effects of mastication on combustion duration are likely to be short-lived. Despite being a laboratory study, the results assist with evaluating mastication as a fuel treatment by demonstrating the potential magnitude of changes to flaming and smouldering duration.
Keywords: field sampling, fire behaviour, fire management, flaming, fuel reduction, laboratory experiment, mastication, mulching, smouldering.
References
Agee JK, Skinner CN (2005) Basic principles of forest fuel reduction treatments. Forest Ecology and Management 211, 83–96.| Basic principles of forest fuel reduction treatments.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Anderson WR, Cruz MG, Fernandes PM, McCaw L, Vega JA, Bradstock RA, Fogarty L, Gould J, McCarthy G, Marden-Smedley JB, Matthews S, Mattingley G, Pearce HG, van Wilgen BW (2015) A generic, empirical-based model for predicting rate of fire spread in shrublands. International Journal of Wildland Fire 24, 443–460.
| A generic, empirical-based model for predicting rate of fire spread in shrublands.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Battaglia MA, Rocca ME, Rhoades CC, Ryan MG (2010) Surface fuel loadings within mulching treatments in Colorado coniferous forests. Forest Ecology and Management 260, 1557–1566.
| Surface fuel loadings within mulching treatments in Colorado coniferous forests.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Brennan TJ, Keeley JE (2015) Effect of mastication and other mechanical treatments on fuel structure in chaparral. International Journal of Wildland Fire 24, 949–963.
| Effect of mastication and other mechanical treatments on fuel structure in chaparral.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Brewer NW, Smith AMS, Hatten JA, Higuera PE, Hudak AT, Ottmar RD, Tinkham WT (2013) Fuel moisture influences on fire-altered carbon in masticated fuels: An experimental study. Journal of Geophysical Research 118, 30–40.
Buckley AJ (1993) Fuel reducing regrowth forests with a wiregrass fuel type: fire behaviour guide and prescriptions. Research Report no. 40, Fire Management Branch, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, East Melbourne, Victoria.
Bureau of Meteorology (2005) Climate classification of Australia. Australian Government. Available at http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/how/newproducts/images/zones.shtml
Bureau of Meteorology (2010) Average rainfall annual. Australian Government. Available at http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/climate_averages/rainfall/index.jsp
Burnham KP, Anderson DH (2004) Multimodel Inference. Understanding AIC and BIC in Model Selection. Sociological Methods & Research 33, 261–304.
| Multimodel Inference. Understanding AIC and BIC in Model Selection.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Burrows ND (2001) Flame residence times and rates of weight loss of eucalypt forest fuel particles. International Journal of Wildland Fire 10, 137–143.
| Flame residence times and rates of weight loss of eucalypt forest fuel particles.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Busse MD, Hubbert KR, Fiddler GO, Shestak CJ, Powers RF (2005) Lethal soil temperatures during burning of masticated forest residues. International Journal of Wildland Fire 14, 267–276.
| Lethal soil temperatures during burning of masticated forest residues.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Calcagno V, de Mazancourt C (2010) glmulti: An R package for easy automated model selection with (generalized) linear models. Journal of Statistical Software 34, 1–29.
| glmulti: An R package for easy automated model selection with (generalized) linear models.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Catchpole W, Bradstock R, Choate J, Fogarty L, Gellie N, McCarthy G, McCaw L, Marsden-Smedley J, Pearce G (1998) Cooperative development of equations for heathland fire behaviour. In ‘Proceedings, 3rd International Conference on Forest Fire Research and 14th Fire and Forest Meteorology Conference’, 16–20 November 1998, Luso, Coimbra, Portugal. (Ed. DX Viegas) pp. 631–645. (ADAI, University of Coimbra: Coimbra, Portugal)
Cawson JG, Nyman P, Smith HG, Lane PNJ, Sheridan GJ (2016) How soil temperatures during prescribed burning affect soil water repellency, infiltration and erosion. Geoderma 278, 12–22.
| How soil temperatures during prescribed burning affect soil water repellency, infiltration and erosion.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Cawson JG, Duff TJ, Tolhurst KG, Baillie CC, Penman TD (2017) Fuel moisture in mountain ash forests with contrasting fire histories. Forest Ecology and Management 400, 568–577.
| Fuel moisture in mountain ash forests with contrasting fire histories.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Certini G (2005) Effects of fire on properties of forest soils: a review. Oecologia 143, 1–10.
| Effects of fire on properties of forest soils: a review.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 15688212PubMed |
Chen LWA, Verburg P, Shackelford A, Zhu D, Susfalk R, Chow JC, Watson JG (2010) Moisture effects on carbon and nitrogen emission from burning of wildland biomass. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 10, 6617–6625.
| Moisture effects on carbon and nitrogen emission from burning of wildland biomass.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Cheney NP (1981) Fire behaviour. In ‘Fire and the Australian biota’. (Eds AM Gill, RH Groves, IR Noble) pp. 151–177. (Australian Academy of Science: Canberra)
Cheney NP, Gould JS, Knight I (1992) ‘A prescribed burning guide for young regrowth forests of silvertop ash.’ (Forestry Commission of New South Wales: Sydney)
Cheney NP, Gould JS, McCaw WL, Anderson WR (2012) Predicting fire behaviour in dry eucalypt forest in southern Australia. Forest Ecology and Management 280, 120–131.
| Predicting fire behaviour in dry eucalypt forest in southern Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Duff TJ, Cawson JG, Penman TD (2018) Prescribed burning. In ‘Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland–Urban Interface (WUI) Fires’. (Ed. SL Manzello) pp. 1–11. (Springer International Publishing: Cham)
Enright NJ, Kintrup A (2001) Effects of smoke, heat and charred wood on the germination of dormant soil-stored seeds from a Eucalytpus baxteri heath-woodland in Victoria, SE Australia. Austral Ecology 26, 132–141.
| Effects of smoke, heat and charred wood on the germination of dormant soil-stored seeds from a Eucalytpus baxteri heath-woodland in Victoria, SE Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fernandes PM, Botelho HS (2003) A review of prescribed burning effectiveness in fire hazard reduction. International Journal of Wildland Fire 12, 117–128.
| A review of prescribed burning effectiveness in fire hazard reduction.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Frankman D, Webb BW, Butler BW, Jimenez D, Forthofer JM, Sopko P, Shannon KS, Hiers JK, Ottmar RD (2013) Measurements of convective and radiative heating in wildland fires. International Journal of Wildland Fire 22, 157–167.
| Measurements of convective and radiative heating in wildland fires.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Gill AM, Stephens SL, Cary GJ (2013) The worldwide ‘wildfire’ problem. Ecological Applications 23, 438–454.
| The worldwide ‘wildfire’ problem.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 23634593PubMed |
Glitzenstein JS, Streng DR, Achtemeier GL, Naeher LP, Wade DD (2006) Fuels and fire behavior in chipped and unchipped plots: Implications for land management near the wildland/urban interface. Forest Ecology and Management 236, 18–29.
| Fuels and fire behavior in chipped and unchipped plots: Implications for land management near the wildland/urban interface.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Gould JS, McCaw WL, Cheney NP (2011) Quantifying fine fuel dynamics and structure in dry eucalypt forest (Eucalyptus marginata) in Western Australia for fire management. Forest Ecology and Management 262, 531–546.
| Quantifying fine fuel dynamics and structure in dry eucalypt forest (Eucalyptus marginata) in Western Australia for fire management.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Heinsch FA, Sikkink PG, Smith AY, Retzlaff ML (2018) Characterizing fire behavior from laboratory burns of multi-aged, mixed-conifer masticated fuels in the western United States. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Research Paper RMRS-RP-107. (Fort Collins, CO, USA).
Hines F, Tolhurst KG, Wilson AAG, McCarthy GJ (2010) Overall Fuel Hazard Assessment Guide, 4th edn. Fire and adaptive management, Report No. 82. (Fire Management Branch, Department of Sustainability and Environment: Melbourne, Vic.)
Johnston FH, Henderson SB, Chen T, Randerson JT, Marlier M, DeFries RS, Kinney P, Bowman D, Brauer M (2012) Estimated global mortality attributable to smoke from landscape fires. Environmental Health Perspectives 120, 695–701.
| Estimated global mortality attributable to smoke from landscape fires.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 22456494PubMed |
Kane JM, Varner JM, Knapp EE (2009) Novel fuelbed characteristics associated with mechanical mastication treatments in northern California and south-western Oregon, USA. International Journal of Wildland Fire 18, 686–697.
| Novel fuelbed characteristics associated with mechanical mastication treatments in northern California and south-western Oregon, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kreye JK, Kobziar LN (2015) The effect of mastication on surface fire behaviour, fuels consumption and tree mortality in pine flatwoods of Florida, USA. International Journal of Wildland Fire 24, 573–579.
| The effect of mastication on surface fire behaviour, fuels consumption and tree mortality in pine flatwoods of Florida, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kreye JK, Varner JM, Knapp EE (2011) Effects of particle fracturing and moisture content on fire behaviour in masticated fuelbeds burned in a laboratory. International Journal of Wildland Fire 20, 308–317.
| Effects of particle fracturing and moisture content on fire behaviour in masticated fuelbeds burned in a laboratory.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kreye JK, Brewer NW, Morgan P, Varner JM, Smith AMS, Hoffman CM, Ottmar RD (2014) Fire behavior in masticated fuels: A review. Forest Ecology and Management 314, 193–207.
| Fire behavior in masticated fuels: A review.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kreye JK, Varner JM, Kane JM, Knapp EE, Reed WP (2016) The impact of aging on laboratory fire behaviour in masticated shrub fuelbeds of California and Oregon, USA. International Journal of Wildland Fire 25, 1002–1008.
| The impact of aging on laboratory fire behaviour in masticated shrub fuelbeds of California and Oregon, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lyon ZD, Morgan P, Stevens-Rumann CS, Sparks AM, Keefe RF, Smith AMS (2018) Fire behaviour in masticated forest fuels: lab and prescribed fire experiments. International Journal of Wildland Fire 27, 280–292.
| Fire behaviour in masticated forest fuels: lab and prescribed fire experiments.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Matthews S (2010) Effect of drying temperature on fuel moisture content measurements. International Journal of Wildland Fire 19, 800–802.
| Effect of drying temperature on fuel moisture content measurements.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
McCarthy GJ, Tolhurst KG, Wouters M (2003) Prediction of firefighting resources for suppression operations in Victoria’s parks and forests. Department of Sustainability and Environment. (Melbourne, Vic.)
Moore DS, McCabe GP (1999) ‘Introduction to the practice of statistics, 3rd edn.’ (W. H. Freeman and Company: New York)
Murphy BP, Bradstock RA, Boer MM, Carter J, Cary GJ, Cochrane MA, Fensham RJ, Russell-Smith J, Williamson GJ, Bowman DMJS (2013) Fire regimes of Australia: a pyrogeographic model system. Journal of Biogeography 40, 1048–1058.
| Fire regimes of Australia: a pyrogeographic model system.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Neary DG, Klopatek CC, DeBano LF, Ffolliott PF (1999) Fire effects on belowground sustainability: a review and synthesis. Forest Ecology and Management 122, 51–71.
| Fire effects on belowground sustainability: a review and synthesis.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ottmar RD (2001) Smoke source characteristics. In ‘Smoke management guide for prescribed and wildland fire, 2001 edition, PMS 420–2, NFES 1279’. (Eds CC Hardy, RD Ottmar, JL Peterson, JE Core, P Seamon.) pp. 89–106. (National Wildfire Coordination Group, United States Department of Agriculture: Boise, ID)
Penman TD, Towerton AL (2008) Soil temperatures during autumn prescribed burning: implications for the germination of fire responsive species? International Journal of Wildland Fire 17, 572–578.
| Soil temperatures during autumn prescribed burning: implications for the germination of fire responsive species?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Penman TD, Christie FJ, Andersen AN, Bradstock RA, Cary GJ, Hernderson MK, Price F, Tran C, Wardle GM, Williams RJ, York A (2011) Prescribed burning: How can it work to conserve the things we value? International Journal of Wildland Fire 20, 721–733.
| Prescribed burning: How can it work to conserve the things we value?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
R Core Team (2020) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. (R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Austria) Available at https://www.R-project.org/
Rothermel R (1972) A mathematical model of predicting fire spread in wildland fuels. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Research Paper INT-115. (Ogden, UT, USA)
Schiks T, Thompson DK, Wotton BM (2015) Short-term effects of mastication on fuel moisture and thermal regime of boreal fuel beds. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 45, 867–876.
| Short-term effects of mastication on fuel moisture and thermal regime of boreal fuel beds.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Schiks TJ, Wotton BM (2015) Modifying the Canadian Fine Fuel Moisture Code for masticated surface fuels. International Journal of Wildland Fire 24, 79–91.
| Modifying the Canadian Fine Fuel Moisture Code for masticated surface fuels.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Stephens SL, McIver JD, Boerner REJ, Fettig CJ, Fontaine JB, Hartsough BR, Kennedy PL, Schwilk DW (2012) The effects of forest fuel-reduction treatments in the United States. Bioscience 62, 549–560.
| The effects of forest fuel-reduction treatments in the United States.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Weise DR, Zhou X, Sun L, Mahalingam S (2005) Fire spread in chaparral – ‘go or no-go’. International Journal of Wildland Fire 14, 99–106.
| Fire spread in chaparral – ‘go or no-go’.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Winter GJ, Vogt C, Fried JS (2002) Fuel treatments at the wildland–urban interface – Common concerns in diverse regions. Journal of Forestry 100, 15–21.
Ximenes F, Stephens M, Brown M, Law B, Mylek M, Schirmer J, Sullivan A, McGuffog T (2017) Mechanical fuel load reduction in Australia: a potential tool for bushfire mitigation. Australian Forestry 80, 88–98.
| Mechanical fuel load reduction in Australia: a potential tool for bushfire mitigation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |