DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2017.06.046
Scopus记录号: 2-s2.0-85021438632
论文题名: Fuel moisture in Mountain Ash forests with contrasting fire histories
作者: Cawson J.G. ; Duff T.J. ; Tolhurst K.G. ; Baillie C.C. ; Penman T.D.
刊名: Forest Ecology and Management
ISSN: 0378-1127
出版年: 2017
卷: 400 起始页码: 568
结束页码: 577
语种: 英语
英文关键词: Canopy cover
; Fire severity
; Flammability
; Fuel availability
; Microclimate
; Plant area index
; Regime shift
; Time since fire
; Wildfire
Scopus关键词: Carbon
; Flammability
; Forestry
; Fuels
; Landforms
; Moisture
; Reforestation
; Canopy cover
; Fire severity
; Microclimate
; Plant areas
; Regime shift
; Wildfire
; Fires
; Eucalyptus regnans
; Sorbus
英文摘要: Fuel moisture is a key driver of forest flammability as it influences ignition likelihood, fire intensity and resultant fire severity. Changes to forest canopy cover following disturbances like wildfire or logging may alter forest flammability by changing the microclimatic conditions that influence fine fuel moisture. Wet forests dominated by Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) are highly valued for their flora and fauna, timber, carbon and water. Wildfires are an important part of the lifecycle of these forests, but too frequent fire can threaten post-fire regeneration. With large tracts of Mountain Ash forest recovering from recent wildfires (in 2009 and 1983) there is a need to understand the mechanisms driving flammability in these forests, particularly as the forest structure changes following fire. This study sought to understand the effects of fire history on the flammability of Mountain Ash forests by specifically considering fuel moisture for different times since fire and fire severities. We measured canopy cover (plant area index) and fuel moisture within 8 forest sites last burnt between 7 and 200 years ago by wildfires of low or high severity. Fuel moisture and fuel availability (i.e. number of days when fine fuels are dry enough to ignite and sustain spreading fire) were strongly associated with canopy cover; with denser canopied forests having higher fuel moisture. The largest differences in canopy cover occurred between the recently burnt high and low severity forests. For the longer-unburnt forests there were no systematic differences evident in canopy cover with time since fire or fire severity. The fuel moisture was higher and fuels only available to burn on one day in the forest recently burnt by high severity fire (in association with a dense canopy). In contrast, fuels were drier and available to burn on 238 days in the forest recently burnt by low severity fire (in association with a sparser canopy). For the longer-unburnt forests (33 or more years since fire) there were no clear trends between fuel moisture and time since fire and fire severity suggesting that fires do not have a lasting impact on fuel moisture within these wet forests. Overall, this study shows that wildfires have immediate impacts on fuel moisture in Mountain Ash forests but as the time since fire increases, moisture appears to be more a function of canopy properties than fire history. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. Citation statistics:
资源类型: 期刊论文
标识符: http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/64204
Appears in Collections: 影响、适应和脆弱性
There are no files associated with this item.
作者单位: School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne, Burnley Campus, 500 Yarra Boulevard, Richmond, VIC, Australia; School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne, Creswick Campus, Water Street, Creswick, VIC, Australia
Recommended Citation:
Cawson J.G.,Duff T.J.,Tolhurst K.G.,et al. Fuel moisture in Mountain Ash forests with contrasting fire histories[J]. Forest Ecology and Management,2017-01-01,400