Effect of drying temperature on fuel moisture content measurements

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Fuel Moisture ◽  
Laboratory Measurements ◽  
Fire Behaviour ◽  
Drying Temperature ◽  
Oven Drying ◽  
Fuel Moisture Content ◽  
Study Laboratory

Oven-drying of fuel samples is often used to determine fuel moisture content. In this study, laboratory measurements are used to demonstrate that drying temperature has a significant effect on the oven-dry mass of dead grass, pine and eucalyptus fuels. Differences between oven-dry masses of fuels dried at 60 and 105°C of up to 3.5% were measured. This is a large enough difference to have a significant effect on fire behaviour predictions. Samples should be dried at 105°C.

Empirical modelling of surface fire behaviour in maritime pine stands

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo M. Fernandes ◽  
Hermínio S. Botelho ◽  
Francisco C. Rego ◽  
Carlos Loureiro
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Fire Intensity ◽  
Fuel Moisture ◽  
Fire Behaviour ◽  
Spread Rate ◽  
Surface Fire ◽  
Rate Of Spread ◽  
Fuel Moisture Content

An experimental burning program took place in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) stands in Portugal to increase the understanding of surface fire behaviour under mild weather. The spread rate and flame geometry of the forward and backward sections of a line-ignited fire front were measured in 94 plots 10–15 m wide. Measured head fire rate of spread, flame length and Byram’s fire intensity varied respectively in the intervals of 0.3–13.9 m min–1, 0.1–4.2 m and 30–3527 kW m–1. Fire behaviour was modelled through an empirical approach. Rate of forward fire spread was described as a function of surface wind speed, terrain slope, moisture content of fine dead surface fuel, and fuel height, while back fire spread rate was correlated with fuel moisture content and cover of understorey vegetation. Flame dimensions were related to Byram’s fire intensity but relationships with rate of spread and fine dead surface fuel load and moisture are preferred, particularly for the head fire. The equations are expected to be more reliable when wind speed and slope are less than 8 km h–1 and 15°, and when fuel moisture content is higher than 12%. The results offer a quantitative basis for prescribed fire management.

scholarly journals Spectroscopic analysis of seasonal changes in live fuel moisture content and leaf dry mass

2014 ◽  
Vol 150 ◽  
pp. 198-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Qi ◽  
Philip E. Dennison ◽  
W. Matt Jolly ◽  
Rachael C. Kropp ◽  
Simon C. Brewer
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Spectroscopic Analysis ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Fuel Moisture ◽  
Leaf Dry Mass ◽  
Live Fuel Moisture ◽  
Fuel Moisture Content

Live fuel moisture content and leaf ignition of forest species in Andean Patagonia, Argentina

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas O. Bianchi ◽  
Guillermo E. Defossé
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Mediterranean Ecosystems ◽  
Fuel Moisture ◽  
Fire Behaviour ◽  
Black Poplar ◽  
Nothofagus Antarctica ◽  
Live Fuel Moisture ◽  
Ignition Characteristics ◽  
Fuel Moisture Content

Wildfires are common from summer to early fall in Patagonian forests of Argentina. Live fuel moisture content (LFMC) and leaf ignition are important factors for understanding fire behaviour. In this study, we determined seasonal LFMC and leaf ignition of some key fire-prone species of these forests, and their relationships with environmental variables. Species investigated were the native trees ñire (Nothofagus antarctica) and cypress (Austrocedrus chilensis), the understorey tree-like radal (Lomatia hirsuta) and laura (Schinus patagonicus), the bamboo caña colihue (Chusquea culeou), and the non-native black poplar (Populus nigra). LFMC differed among species, with caña colihue having lower values (LFMC <100%); ñire, laura, cypress, and radal having medium values (110–220%); and black poplar, upper values (>220%). Ignition characteristics differed among species (caña colihue > ñire > radal > cypress > laura > black poplar) and were inversely related to LFMC. Correlations between LFMC and environmental variables were highly significant for caña colihue, significant for ñire, radal, and laura, and weakly significant or non-significant for cypress and black poplar. These results contribute to our understanding of fire behaviour, and validate the fuel typology for Patagonian forests. At the same time, they add some useful knowledge for comparison with other fire-prone Mediterranean ecosystems around the world.

Fuel-related fire-behaviour relationships for mixed live and dead fuels burned in the laboratory

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 883-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos G. Rossa ◽  
Paulo M. Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Experimental Program ◽  
Structural Parameter ◽  
Fuel Moisture ◽  
Fuel Type ◽  
Fire Behaviour ◽  
Spread Rate ◽  
Fuel Moisture Content

A laboratory experimental program addressing fire spread in fuel beds composed of dead foliage litter and vertically placed quasi-live branches, representative of many natural fuel complexes, was carried out for either still-air or wind conditions. Fuel-bed characteristics, fire spread rate, flame geometry, and fuel consumption were assessed and empirical models for estimating several parameters were developed. Weighted fuel moisture content (18%–163%) provided good estimates of fire-behaviour characteristics and accounted for most of the variation in still-air and wind-driven spread rate (0.1–1.3 m·min−1). When predicting still-air fire spread rate, fuel height was the most relevant fuel-bed structural parameter and fuel type had significant influence, whereas for wind-driven spread, the effect of foliar fuel-bed density was dominant and fuel type became irrelevant. Flame length (0.4–2.2 m) increased from still-air to wind-assisted (8 km·h−1) fire spread, but its height remained constant. The fraction of total fuel load and mean woody fuel diameter consumed by fire were reasonably predicted from weighted fuel moisture content alone, but predictions for the latter variable improved substantially by adding foliar fuel load.

Why is the effect of live fuel moisture content on fire rate of spread underestimated in field experiments in shrublands?

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Pimont ◽  
J. Ruffault ◽  
N. K. Martin-StPaul ◽  
J.-L. Dupuy
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Fuel Moisture ◽  
Fire Behaviour ◽  
Power Functions ◽  
Field Evidence ◽  
Live Fuel Moisture ◽  
Fuel Moisture Content

Live fuel moisture content (LFMC) influences fire activity at landscape scale and fire behaviour in laboratory experiments. However, field evidence linking LFMC to fire behaviour are very limited, despite numerous field experiments. In this study, we reanalyse a shrubland fire dataset with a special focus on LFMC to investigate this counterintuitive outcome. We found that this controversy might result from three causes. First, the range of experimental LFMC data was too moist to reveal a significant effect with the widespread exponential or power functions. Indeed, LFMC exhibited a strong effect below 100%, but marginal above this threshold, contrary to these functions. Second, we found that the LFMC significance was unlikely when the number of fire experiments was smaller than 40. Finally, an analysis suggested that 10 to 15% measurement error – arising from the estimation of environmental variables from field measurements – could lead to an underestimation by 30% of the LFMC effect. The LFMC effect in field experiments is thus stronger than previously reported in the range of LFMC occurring during the French fire season and in accordance with observations at different scales. This highlights the need to improve our understanding of the relationship between LFMC and fire behaviour to refine fire-danger predictions.

Assessing the probability of sustained flaming in masticated fuel beds

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.J. Schiks ◽  
B.M. Wotton
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Field Testing ◽  
Behavior Modeling ◽  
Fuel Moisture ◽  
Fire Behaviour ◽  
Fire Weather Index ◽  
Fuel Moisture Content

Mechanical mastication is increasingly used as a fuel management treatment to reduce fire risk at the wildland–urban interface, although ignition and fire behaviour in these novel fuel beds are poorly understood. We investigated the influence of observed fuel moisture content, wind speed, and firebrand size on the probability of sustained flaming of masticated fuel beds under both laboratory and field settings. Logistic regression techniques were applied to assess the probability of sustained flaming in both datasets. Models for the field were also developed using estimated moisture from three sets of weather-based models: (i) the hourly Fine Fuel Moisture Code (FFMC) from the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System, (ii) the National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) moisture estimates for 1 h and 10 h fuels, and (iii) a masticated surface fuel moisture model (MAST). In both laboratory and field testing, the likelihood of a successful ignition increased with decreasing moisture content and increasing wind speed; the effect of firebrand size was only apparent in laboratory testing. The FFMC, NFDRS, and MAST predictions had somewhat reduced discriminative power relative to direct moisture in predicting the probability of sustained flaming based on our field observations. Our results speak to the disparity between the fire behaviour modeling that occurs in the laboratory and the fire behavior modeling that occurs in the field, as the methodology permitted comparison of predictions from sustained flaming models that were developed for one experimental setting and applied to the other.

A generic, empirical-based model for predicting rate of fire spread in shrublands

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy R. Anderson ◽  
Miguel G. Cruz ◽  
Paulo M. Fernandes ◽  
Lachlan McCaw ◽  
Jose Antonio Vega ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Fuel Moisture ◽  
Fire Behaviour ◽  
Weather Factors ◽  
Vegetation Height ◽  
Rate Of Spread ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Fuel Moisture Content

A shrubland fire behaviour dataset was assembled using data from experimental studies in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and South Africa. The dataset covers a wide range of heathlands and shrubland species associations and vegetation structures. Three models for rate of spread are developed using 2-m wind speed, a wind reduction factor, elevated dead fuel moisture content and either vegetation height (with or without live fuel moisture content) or bulk density. The models are tested against independent data from prescribed fires and wildfires and found to predict fire spread rate within acceptable limits (mean absolute errors varying between 3.5 and 9.1 m min–1). A simple model to predict dead fuel moisture content is evaluated, and an ignition line length correction is proposed. Although the model can be expected to provide robust predictions of rate of spread in a broad range of shrublands, the effects of slope steepness and variation in fuel quantity and composition are yet to be quantified. The model does not predict threshold conditions for continuous fire spread, and future work should focus on identifying fuel and weather factors that control transitions in fire behaviour.

Predicting 1-H Dead Fuel Moisture Content at Regional Scales Using Machine Learning from Himawari-8 Data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunquan Fan ◽  
Binbin He ◽  
Peng Kong ◽  
Hao Xu ◽  
Qiang Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Fuel Moisture ◽  
Fuel Moisture Content

scholarly journals Evaluating the Effects of Projected Climate Change on Forest Fuel Moisture Content

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 65-69
Author(s):  
Kellen Nelson ◽  
Daniel Tinker
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Fuel Moisture ◽  
Mature Forest ◽  
Forest Fuel ◽  
Fuel Moisture Content

Understanding how live and dead forest fuel moisture content (FMC) varies with seasonal weather and stand structure will improve researchers’ and forest managers’ ability to predict the cumulative effects of weather on fuel drying during the fire season and help identify acute conditions that foster wildfire ignition and high rates of fire spread. No studies have investigated the efficacy of predicting FMC using mechanistic water budget models at daily time scales through the fire season nor have they investigated how FMC may vary across space. This study addresses these gaps by (1) validating a novel mechanistic live FMC model and (2) applying this model with an existing dead FMC model at three forest sites using five climate change scenarios to characterize how FMC changes through time and across space. Sites include post-fire 24-year old forest, mature forest with high canopy cover, and mature forest affected by the mountain pine beetle with moderate canopy cover. Climate scenarios include central tendency, warm/dry, warm/wet, hot/dry, and hot/wet.

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