Moisture content variation of ground vegetation fuels in boreal mesic and sub-xeric mineral soil forests in Finland
Henrik Lindberg A E , Tuomas Aakala B C and Ilkka Vanha-Majamaa D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Häme University of Applied Sciences, School of Bioeconomy, Visamäentie 35 A, PO Box 230, FI-13100 Hämeenlinna, Finland.
B Department of Forest Sciences, Latokartanonkaari 7, PO Box 27, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.
C Present address: University of Eastern Finland, School of Forest Sciences, PO Box 111 FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland.
D Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland.
E Corresponding author: Email: henrik.lindberg@hamk.fi
International Journal of Wildland Fire 30(4) 283-293 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF20085
Submitted: 6 June 2020 Accepted: 25 December 2020 Published: 1 February 2021
Abstract
Forest fire risk in Finland is estimated with the Finnish Forest Fire Index (FFI), which predicts the fuel moisture content (FMC) of the forest floor. We studied the FMC variation of four typical ground vegetation fuels, Pleurozium schreberi, Hylocomium splendens, Dicranum spp., and Cladonia spp., and raw humus in mature and recently clear-cut stands. Of these, six were sub-xeric Pinus sylvestris stands, and six mesic Picea abies stands. We analysed the ability of the FFI to predict FMC and compared it with the widely applied Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI). We found that in addition to stand characteristics, ground layer FMC was highly dependent on the species so that Dicranum was the moistest, and Cladonia the driest. In the humus layer, the differences among species were small. Overall, the FWI was a slightly better predictor of FMC than the FFI. While the FFI generally predicted ground layer FMC well, the shape of the relationship varied among the four species. The use of auxiliary variables thus has potential in improving predictions of ignitions and forest fire risk. Knowledge of FMC variation could also benefit planning and timing of prescribed burns.
Keywords: FFI, fire risk, FMC, forest fire index, forest type, FWI, humus, Norway spruce, prescribed burning, Scots pine, stand structure.
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