Estimation of surface dead fine fuel moisture using automated fuel moisture sticks across a range of forests worldwide
Jane G. Cawson
A H , Petter Nyman B , Christian Schunk C , Gary J. Sheridan B , Thomas J. Duff A , Kelsy Gibos D , William D. Bovill E , Marco Conedera F , Gianni B. Pezzatti F and Annette Menzel C G
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Burnley Campus, 500 Yarra Boulevard, Richmond, Vic. 3121, Australia.
B School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Baldwin Spencer Building, Parkville, Vic. 3010, Australia.
C Ecoclimatology, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany.
D Wildfire Management Branch, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, 111-54 Street, Edson, Alberta T7E 1T2, Canada.
E School of Geography, The University of Melbourne, 221 Bouverie Street, Parkville, Vic. 3010, Australia.
F WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Insubric Ecosystems Research Group, a Ramèl 18, 6593 Cadenazzo, Switzerland.
G Institute for Advanced Study, Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstrasse 2a, 85748 Garching, Germany.
H Corresponding author. Email: jane.cawson@unimelb.edu.au
International Journal of Wildland Fire 29(6) 548-559 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF19061
Submitted: 10 April 2019 Accepted: 13 January 2020 Published: 7 February 2020
Journal Compilation © IAWF 2020 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND
Abstract
Field measurements of surface dead fine fuel moisture content (FFMC) are integral to wildfire management, but conventional measurement techniques are limited. Automated fuel sticks offer a potential solution, providing a standardised, continuous and real-time measure of fuel moisture. As such, they are used as an analogue for surface dead fine fuel but their performance in this context has not been widely evaluated. We assessed the ability of automated fuel sticks to predict surface dead FFMC across a range of forest types. We combined concurrent moisture measurements of the fuel stick and surface dead fine fuel from 27 sites (570 samples), representing nine broad forest fuel categories. We found a moderate linear relationship between surface dead FFMC and fuel stick moisture for all data combined (R2 = 0.54), with fuel stick moisture averaging 3-fold lower than surface dead FFMC. Relationships were typically stronger for individual forest fuel categories (median R2 = 0.70; range = 0.55–0.87), suggesting the sticks require fuel-specific calibration for use as an analogue of surface dead fine fuel. Future research could identify fuel properties that will enable more generalised calibration functions.
Additional keywords: fire danger, fire risk, hazard stick, microclimate, response time, wildfire.
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