Fuel vertical structure affects fire sustainability and behaviour of prescribed burning in Spartium junceum shrublands

Autor: Daniele Castagneri, Umberto Seneca, Assunta Esposito, Davide Ascoli, Giovanni Bovio, Stefano Mazzoleni, Ambra Elena Catalanotti
Přispěvatelé: Castagneri, D, Esposito, Assunta, Bovio, G, Mazzoleni, S, Seneca, U, Catalanotti, Ae, Ascoli, D.
Rok vydání: 2013
Předmět:
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Fuel structure
Forest management
ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species
Spartium
Tree allometry
Fuel load
01 natural sciences
Shrub
wildfire
Shrubland
[SDV.SA.SF]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Silviculture
forestry
Spanish broom
Cube method
Fuel modeling
ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
040101 forestry
Hydrology
geography
geography.geographical_feature_category
Shrubland management
Ecology
biology
ved/biology
Residence time
Fire ecology
Prescribed burn
Shrublandmanagement
Prescribed burning
Spartium junceum
Forestry
04 agricultural and veterinary sciences
15. Life on land
biology.organism_classification
Thermocouples
Fuel efficiency
0401 agriculture
forestry
and fisheries
Environmental science
Zdroj: Annals of Forest Science
Annals of Forest Science, Springer Nature (since 2011)/EDP Science (until 2010), 2013, 70 (8), pp.863-871. ⟨10.1007/s13595-013-0327-3⟩
ISSN: 1297-966X
1286-4560
DOI: 10.1007/s13595-013-0327-3
Popis: Prescribed burning is increasingly recommended to control encroaching shrublands in the Mediterranean area. The aims of this paper are to analyze the fuel structural characteristics of Spartium junceum and how they influence fire behaviour during prescribed burning. Two winter–spring prescribed burns were conducted in 2009 and 2011. Fuel load and structure of S. junceum shrubs were assessed using the Cube Method, and shrub 3-D models were built using the FIRE PARADOX FUEL MANAGER software. Allometric equations to estimate S. junceum fuel load were developed. During burning, thermocouples measured temperature variations, which were then analyzed relative to fuel characteristics. Fuel load components and distribution were strictly related to shrub height; in tall shrubs, most of the fine fuel was more than 1.5 m aboveground. Due to fuel vertical discontinuity, not all shrubs were burned in the fires, but wind increased fire sustainment and fuel consumption. Maximum temperatures (over 800 °C) and residence times were positively related to fuel load. S. junceum tall shrublands represent high hazard formations due to their elevated fuel load, mostly in fine fuel fractions. Vertical discontinuity among fuel strata limits fire propagation in mild weather conditions. Winter–spring prescribed burning cannot eliminate S. junceum shrublands, but do create shrub cover discontinuity. As S. junceum has fire-adapted morphological traits, a single burn is insufficient to control it.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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