Fuel characteristics of the invasive shrub Teline monspessulana (L.) K. Koch

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael A. García ◽  
María L. Engler ◽  
Eduardo Peña ◽  
Fredric W. Pollnac ◽  
Aníbal Pauchard
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Large Volume ◽  
Mediterranean Climate ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Invasive Shrub ◽  
South Central ◽  
Genista Monspessulana ◽  
French Broom ◽  
Fuel Characteristics ◽  
Fuel Accumulation

Some broom species have the ability to modify elements of the fire regime in invaded areas. One such species, Teline monspessulana (Syn. Genista monspessulana; French Broom), has expanded notoriously in south-central Chile’s Mediterranean climate. The biota of this area may be particularly vulnerable to effects of invasive species on the fire regime, as it is less adapted to wildfires. The properties of the fuel accumulated in T. monspessulana populations of different ages are characterised in this paper. For this, models were constructed to estimate fuel accumulation in T. monspessulana populations, and tests for flammability of foliage were also performed. The results show that the rapid growth of this invasive shrub ensures a significant accumulation of fuel (close to 90 ton ha–1) in periods shorter than a decade, which may influence the severity of wildfires. Further, the fuel has a significant accumulation of fine material and high flammability, both of which may facilitate the ignition of fires. The large volume and high flammability of the fuel accumulated in T. monspessulana populations can thus play an important role in changing the fire regime in areas where it has invaded.

scholarly journals Physicochemical Analysis and Essential Oils Extraction of the Gorse (Ulex europaeus) and French Broom (Genista monspessulana), Two Highly Invasive Species in the Colombian Andes

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Diego F. Osorio-Castiblanco ◽  
Gwendolyn Peyre ◽  
Juan F. Saldarriaga
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Essential Oils ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Physicochemical Characterization ◽  
Chemical Compounds ◽  
Dodecanoic Acid ◽  
Natural Polymers ◽  
Ulex Europaeus ◽  
Genista Monspessulana ◽  
French Broom

Gorse (Ulex europaeus) and French broom (Genista monspessulana) are two highly invasive species that have become a threat to tropical countries, especially in Andean ecosystems. This research focused on providing a physicochemical characterization and essential oils extraction of both species to better understand their potential valorization and guide further environmental management efforts. For this purpose, the following analyses were conducted for both species: higher heat value (HHV), elemental analysis, proximate analysis, thermogravimetric analysis to obtain constituent natural polymers (hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin), and extraction of essential oils and other interest chemical compounds through supercritical fluids. Ecological closeness was found between the two species mostly regarding HHV, fixed carbon, and volatile matter, which calls for similar potential uses. Both species were also found to be suitable for combustion processes, gasification, extraction of chemical compounds, and use of lignocellulosic content; however, only U. europaeus appeared suitable for activated carbon obtention. Therefore, this work provided relevant data that can be used as preliminary basis to establish strong scientifically-based management and control strategies for these two invasive species. We recommend focusing primarily on thermal processes such as pyrolysis, gasification, or combustion, and also essential oils extractions of acetic acid, dodecanoic acid, anagyrine, amylene hydrate, caulophylline, and maltol in the future.

scholarly journals Historic Fire Regime of an Upland Oak Forest in South-Central North America

Fire Ecology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan D. DeSantis ◽  
Stephen W. Hallgren ◽  
David W. Stahle
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Oak Forest ◽  
South Central

Fire regime in a conservation reserve in Chihuahua, Mexico

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 320-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Z Fulé ◽  
José Villanueva-Díaz ◽  
Mauro Ramos-Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Cambial Growth ◽  
Sierra Madre ◽  
Fuel Accumulation ◽  
Mean Fire Interval ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Almost All

Fire regime characteristics were reconstructed from fire-scarred trees in the Tutuaca reserve, a newly designated protected area in the Sierra Madre Occidental of western Chihuahua. The reserve was created to protect thick-billed parrot nesting habitat (large snags) and a relict forest of Chihuahua spruce (Picea chihuahuana Martínez). We collected fire-scarred samples from conifers (Pinus ayacahuite Ehrenb., Pinus durangensis Martínez, and Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) in three 25-ha sites arrayed at different watershed positions, from a low site adjacent to the spruce trees up to the watershed divide. Fire analysis periods began in 1702, 1704, or 1761 and continued through the final fire in 1955 (two sites) or 1995. All sites had frequent fire regimes (mean fire interval (MFI) 3.9–5.2 years; MFI for years in which 25% or more of the samples were scarred: 6.9–8.4 years). Almost all fires occurred before cambial growth began or early during the season of cambial growth. Fire years were significantly dry, and the years immediately preceding fire were significantly wet. After 1955, no further fires occurred at two of the three study sites, a pattern similar to that observed elsewhere in northern Mexico. The third site had fires in 1987 and 1995. The extended fire-free period in portions of the Tutuaca landscape may result in fuel accumulation and eventually in severe wildfire. For effective conservation of fire-susceptible habitat features, managers should seek to incorporate surface fire as a management tool.

Strong anthropogenic signals in historic forest fire regime: a detailed spatiotemporal case study from south-central Norway

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (9) ◽  
pp. 836-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Olaf Storaunet ◽  
Jørund Rolstad ◽  
Målfrid Toeneiet ◽  
Ylva-li Blanck
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fires ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Scars ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Slash And Burn ◽  
South Central

To better understand the historic range of variability in the fire regime of Fennoscandian boreal forests we cross-dated 736 fire scars of remnant Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) wood samples in a 3.6 km2 section of the Trillemarka-Rollagsfjell Reserve of south-central Norway. Using a kernel range application in GIS we spatially delineated 57 individual forest fires between 1350 and the present. We found a strong anthropogenic signal in the fire regime from 1600 and onwards: (i) infrequent variably sized fires prior to 1600 shifted to frequent fires gradually decreasing in size during the 1600s and 1700s, with only a few small fires after 1800; (ii) time intervals between fires and the hazard of burning showed substantial differences pre- and post-1600; (iii) fire seasonality changed from late- to early-season fires from the 1626 fire and onwards; and (iv) fire severity decreased gradually over time. Written sources corroborated our results, narrating a history where anthropogenic forest fires and slash-and-burn cultivation expanded with the increasing population from the late 1500s. Concurrently, timber resources increased in value, gradually forcing slash-and-burn cultivators to abandon fires on forest land. Our results strengthen and expand previous Fennoscandian findings on the anthropogenic influence of historic fire regimes.

scholarly journals Plant functional traits of dominant native and invasive species in mediterranean-climate ecosystems

Ecology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Funk ◽  
Rachel J. Standish ◽  
William D. Stock ◽  
Fernando Valladares
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Mediterranean Climate ◽  
Plant Functional Traits

Recent impact of fire on high-altitude balsam fir forests in south-central Quebec1This article is one of a selection of papers from the 7th International Conference on Disturbance Dynamics in Boreal Forests.

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (7) ◽  
pp. 1289-1305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Luc Couillard ◽  
Serge Payette ◽  
Pierre Grondin
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Plant Composition ◽  
White Birch ◽  
South Central

The dynamics of high-altitude balsam fir ( Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) forests is mainly driven by insect outbreaks and windthrows. However, very little work has been done on the role of fire on the development and maintenance of this ecosystem. In this study, we document the role of fire in the high-altitude balsam fir forests of the Réserve Faunique des Laurentides (RFL), southern Quebec. Sixteen sites were sampled among six different forest types described according to plant composition and fire evidence. At each site, the diameter structure was recorded and stand age was calculated based on tree-ring dating of individual trees and radiocarbon-dated surficial charcoal samples. Fire played a major role in the recent dynamics of high-altitude fir forests in the RFL. Over the last 250 years, nearly 50% of the study area burned during two fire conflagrations, i.e., around 1815 and in 1878. The fires triggered gradual changes in plant composition and forest structure, as shown by a succession of forest types ranging from white birch ( Betula papyrifera Marsh.) to spruce–fir types. Absence of surficial charcoal older than 300 years suggests that high-altitude forests of the RFL area were not subjected to a constant fire regime. It is possible that recent fires were caused by human activity.

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