Factors influencing the formation of unburned forest islands within the perimeter of a large forest fire

Large forest fires have recently increased in frequency and severity in many ecosystems. Due to the heterogeneity in fuels, weather and topography, these large fires tend to form unburned islands of vegetation. This study focuses on a large forest fire that occurred in north-eastern Spain in 1998, which left large areas of unburned vegetation within its perimeter. Based on a satellite post-fire severity map we searched for the relative influence of biotic and abiotic factors leading to unburned island formation. We divided the area of the fire into individual units we called “slopes” which were meant to separate the differential microclimatic effects of contrasted aspects. The number of unburned islands and their areas were related to 12 variables that influence their formation (i.e. land cover composition, aspect, steepness, forest structure, two landscape indices and weather variables). We hypothesized that unburned vegetation islands would concentrate on northern aspects, in less flammable forests (i.e. broadleaf species) and higher fragmentation to interrupt the advance of fire. While north and western aspects did have a higher presence of unburned vegetation islands, our study suggests greater presence of islands in slopes that are larger (i.e. more continuous areas with relatively homogeneous aspect), with greater proportions of forest cover, with higher wood volumes and with lower proportions of broadleaf species. Climate also played a role, with relative humidity and wind speed positively and negatively correlated to island formation, respectively. Unburned vegetation was more frequent on slopes with lower diversity of land covers and higher dominance of one land cover in the slope. Since slopes with only one land cover (i.e. forests) had more islands than slopes with multiple cover types, we infer that under severe meteorological conditions, fragmented forests can be more affected by wind and by water stress, thus burning more readily than forests that are protected from this edge phenomenon. These results would reinforce forest management strategies that avoid linear features (fire-lines and fire-breaks), to enhance fuel treatments that focus on areas and minimize fragmentation.     

农作物固体废弃物致密成型燃料能量学对比分析

选取主要农作物固体废弃物为研究对象,综合考虑其热力学特性以及成型设备工程技术参数,对农作物的固体废弃物致密成型燃料与煤的能量学进行了比较研究。结果表明,对于秸秆类的固体废弃物致密成型燃料,由于其生产耗能高,仅当煤从生产地到使用地之间的输送距离超过4 000 km时,此类固体废弃物致密成型燃料与煤具有近似同等的能量竞争力;而对于果壳类的固体废弃物致密成型燃料,其生产耗能较低,临界输送距离较短。当煤从生产地到使用地之间的输送距离超过2200 km时,基于果壳类的固体废弃物致密成型燃料比煤更有能量优势;当煤从生产地到使用地之间的输送距离处于1500～2200 km时,基于果壳类的固体废弃物致密成型燃料与煤具有近似同等的能量竞争力;当煤从生产地到使用地之间的输送距离小于1000 km时,则基于果壳类的固体废弃物致密成型燃料失去了能量优势。     

National fuel-treatment budgeting in US federal agencies: Capturing opportunities for transparent decision-making

The Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS) system has been used by the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and Bureaus of the Department of the Interior since 2006 to evaluate wildfire potential across all administrative units in the continental US, and to establish priorities for allocating fuel-treatment budgets. This article discusses an EMDS fuels-treatment decision-support application, agency experiences with the application, and the extent to which it addressed concerns in Congress, and those of the General Accountability Office. EMDS aids the budget allocation process by providing a rational, transparent, and reproducible process that can be clearly communicated to Congressional staff and oversight personnel. However, practical application of this decision-support process was not without challenges, which included missing or suboptimal data, clearly articulated fuels management objectives, and improved understanding (via re-assessing decision logic from prior years) of trade-offs in decision-making.     

Estimating the quadratic mean diameters of fine woody debris in forests of the United States

Most fine woody debris (FWD) line-intersect sampling protocols and associated estimators require an approximation of the quadratic mean diameter (QMD) of each individual FWD size class. There is a lack of empirically derived QMDs by FWD size class and species/forest type across the U.S. The objective of this study is to evaluate a technique known as the graphical estimation (GE) method for estimating FWD QMDs across forests of the U.S. Results indicate tremendous inter- and intra-specific variation in small FWD diameters. In addition, GE model fitting results demonstrated a lack of substantial difference in FWD QMDs between common forest types. It is postulated that the mixing, fracturing, and decay of both tree and shrub downed woody debris in diverse forest types across the U.S. can homogenate FWD QMDs at state/national levels. In the absence of site-specific empirical measurement of FWD QMDs, it is suggested that a general national set of FWD QMDs derived from the GE method be adopted for large-scale FWD monitoring efforts.     

Modeling fire susceptibility in west central Alberta, Canada

Strategic modification of forest vegetation has become increasingly popular as one of the few preemptive activities that land managers can undertake to reduce the likelihood that an area will be burned by a wildfire. Directed use of prescribed fire or harvest planning can lead to changes in the type and arrangement of forest vegetation across the landscape that, in turn, may reduce fire susceptibility across large areas. While among the few variables that fire managers can influence, fuel conditions are only one of many factors that determine fire susceptibility. Variations in weather and topography, in combination with fuels, determine which areas are more likely to burn under a given fire regime. An understanding of these combined factors is necessary to identify high fire susceptibility areas for prioritizing and evaluating strategic fuel management activities, as well as informing other fire management activities, such as community protection planning and strategic level allocation of fire suppression resources across a management area. We used repeated fire growth simulations, automated in the Burn-P3 landscape-fire simulation model, to assess spatial variations in fire susceptibility across a 2.4 million ha study area in the province of Alberta, Canada. The results were used to develop a Fire Susceptibility Index (FSI). Multivariate statistical analyses were used to identify the key factors that determine variation in FSI across the study area and to describe the spatial scale at which these variables influence fire susceptibility at a given location. A fuel management scenario was used to assess the impact of prescribed fire treatments on FSI. Results indicated that modeled fire susceptibility was strongly influenced by fuel composition, fuel arrangement, and topography. The likelihood of high or extreme FSI values at a given location was strongly associated with the percent of conifer forest within a 2-km radius, and with elevation and ignition patterns within a 5-km radius. Results indicated that prescribed fire treatments can be effective at reducing forest fire susceptibility in community protection zones and that simulation modeling is an effective means of evaluating spatial variation in landscape fire susceptibility.     

Bark beetles,fuels, fires and implications for forest management in the Intermountain West

Bark beetle-caused tree mortality in conifer forests affects the quantity and quality of forest fuels and has long been assumed to increase fire hazard and potential fire behavior. In reality, bark beetles, and their effects on fuel accumulation, and subsequent fire hazard, are poorly understood. We extensively sampled fuels in three bark beetle-affected Intermountain conifer forests and compared these data to existing research on bark beetle/fuels/fire interactions within the context of the disturbance regime. Data were collected in endemic, epidemic and post-epidemic stands of Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine and Engelmann spruce. From these data, we evaluated the influence of bark beetle-caused tree mortality on various fuels characteristics over the course of a bark beetle rotation. The data showed that changes in fuels over time create periods where the potential for high intensity and/or severe fires increases or decreases. The net result of bark beetle epidemics was a substantial change in species composition and a highly altered fuels complex. Early in epidemics there is a net increase in the amount of fine surface fuels when compared to endemic stands. In post-epidemic stands large, dead, woody fuels, and live surface fuels dominate. We then discuss potential fire behavior in bark beetle-affected conifer fuels based on actual and simulated fuels data. Results indicated that for surface fires both rates of fire spread and fireline intensities were higher in the current epidemic stands than in the endemic stands. Rates of spread and fireline intensities were higher in epidemic stands due, however, to decreased vegetative sheltering and its effect on mid-flame wind speed, rather than changes in fuels. Passive crown fires were more likely in post-epidemic stands, but active crown fires were less likely due to decreased aerial fuel continuity. We also discuss the ecological effects of extreme fire behavior. Information is presented on managing forests to reduce the impact of bark beetle outbreaks and the interplay between management, bark beetle populations, fuels and fire hazard and behavior.     

湿度对可燃物时滞和平衡含水率的影响

测定可燃物在相同温度、不同湿度条件下的含水率随时间变化的过程,估测了可燃物的平衡含水率和时滞,并利用计算机统计软件建立了可燃物平衡含水率-湿度模型、时滞-湿度模型,分析了湿度对可燃物时滞及平衡含水率的影响.从而实现了通过获取气象因子来预测森林可燃物含水率的设计思想.     

大兴安岭林区草甸火顺风蔓延模型的研究

根据1981～1983年在大兴安岭地区测得的草塘沟火烧试验数据,对影响草甸火蔓延的几个重要因子(风速、可燃物含水率、大气温度、相对湿度和可燃物干重量)进行了多元线性回归分析。分析结果表明,风速(V)和可燃物含水率(M)对火蔓延起决定性作用。据此,利用该二项因子V和M进行了二元线性回归,建立草甸火顺风蔓延速度预测模型:R=0.3370+0.0660V-0.0052M。复相关系数R_0=0.818。此模型可为大兴安岭林区火烧防火线安全用火,合理调配点火与扑火力量提供科学参考依据。