To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Biomass wildfires.
Journal articles on the topic 'Biomass wildfires'
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 journal articles for your research on the topic 'Biomass wildfires.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse journal articles on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
N., Mukululi, and Innocent M. "An Analysis of the Influence of Annual Rainfall Fluctuations on Wildfire Occurrence in Protected Areas in the Northwest of Zimbabwe." African Journal of Environment and Natural Science Research 4, no. 3 (August 9, 2021): 93–107. http://dx.doi.org/10.52589/ajensr-deyolnl5.
Full textAbstract:
The occurrence and threat from wildfires are a conservation concern in semi-arid savanna-protected areas. The risk of wildlife occurrence is uncertain under climate change scenarios. However, general predictions are that different changes are likely to occur in weather conditions in different landscapes. We sought to analyze the influence of annual precipitation on wildfire occurrence in a protected area landscape in northwest Zimbabwe. Data on annual rainfall received and wildfire occurrence for Chizarira National Park (CNP), Chirisa Safari Area (CSA), and Sengwa Wildlife Research Area (SWRA) was analyzed using regression analysis. The relationship between the annual precipitation amount received per site and the number of wildfires recorded per site showed a positive correlation only for CSA. No significant differences were observed for CNP and SWRA at a significant level of p< 0.05. The highest number of wildfires were recorded between July and November. We advance that annual rainfall is one factor among many drivers of wildfires and that this is not uniform but varies across the landscape. Effective annual precipitation contributes to high vegetation biomass production and accumulation of such biomass increases the risk of wildfires. In some instances, rainfall patterns could not explain the occurrence of wildfires. We, therefore, contend that other drivers such as human activities and natural factors are important drivers of wildfires across the three sites. The conservation implication of our finding is that robust fire management plans need to take an ecosystem approach that includes communities adjacent to protected areas.
2
Pokharel, Raju, Gregory Latta, and Sara B. Ohrel. "Estimating Climate-Sensitive Wildfire Risk and Tree Mortality Models for Use in Broad-Scale U.S. Forest Carbon Projections." Forests 14, no. 2 (February 3, 2023): 302. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f14020302.
Full textAbstract:
This study utilizes forest inventory and climate attributes as the basis for estimating models of wildfire risk and associated biomass loss (tree mortality) and then demonstrates how they can be applied in calculating CO2 emissions related to the incidence of wildfires from U.S. forests. First, we use the full set of over 150,000 FIA plots of national forest inventory and climatic parameters to estimate models of the annual probability of wildfire occurrence and loss of live tree biomass. Then, maps of the spatial allocation of both the model-derived probability of wildfire occurrences and tree mortality are presented at the national level. The probability of wildfire occurrences and tree mortality were defined by a complex non-linear association of climatic conditions and forest ownerships, available aboveground biomass, and the age of the stand. Then, we provide an example of how these models can estimate potential CO2 emissions from wildfires by using FIA inventory data. We estimated 6.10, 16.65, 22.75, and 31.01 million metric tons of annual CO2 emissions with low, medium, high, and catastrophic combustion rates, respectively, from forests due to wildfire in the continental U.S. The wildfire risk and biomass loss due to tree mortality maps can be used by landowners, managers, public agencies, and other stakeholders in identifying high-risk wildfire zones and the potential CO2 emissions. These equations can also help estimate fire risk and associated CO2 emissions for future climate conditions to provide insight into climate change-related wildfire occurrences.
3
Haeussler, Sybille, and Yves Bergeron. "Range of variability in boreal aspen plant communities after wildfire and clear-cutting." Canadian Journal of Forest Research 34, no. 2 (February 1, 2004): 274–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x03-274.
Full textAbstract:
Composition, structure, and diversity of vascular and nonvascular plant communities was compared 3 years after wildfire and clear-cutting in mesic trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) forests of the southern Canadian boreal forest. We examined mean response to disturbance and variability around the mean across four to five spatial scales. Four 1997 wildfires were located near Timmins, Ontario, and ten 19961997 clearcuts were located adjacent to the wildfires. We randomly located plots within mesic, aspen-dominated stands selected to minimize predisturbance environmental differences. Correspondence analysis separated wildfire and clearcut samples based on community composition: wildfires had more aspen suckers, Diervilla lonicera Mill., and pioneering mosses; clearcuts had more under story tall shrubs, forbs, bryophytes, and lichens. Live tree basal area averaged 1.7 m2/ha in wildfires and 1.8 m2/ha in clearcuts (p = 0.59), and understory community structure (the horizontal and vertical distribution of live and dead plant biomass) was not markedly different. Clearcuts had higher species richness with greater variance than wildfires across all spatial scales tested, but differences in beta and structural diversity varied with spatial scale. Generally, clearcutwildfire differences were more evident and wildfire variability greater at larger analytical scales, suggesting that plant biodiversity monitoring should emphasize cumulative effects across landscapes and regions.
4
Steiner, Jean L., Jeffrey Wetter, Shelby Robertson, Stephen Teet, Jie Wang, Xiaocui Wu, Yuting Zhou, David Brown, and Xiangming Xiao. "Grassland Wildfires in the Southern Great Plains: Monitoring Ecological Impacts and Recovery." Remote Sensing 12, no. 4 (February 13, 2020): 619. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs12040619.
Full textAbstract:
Devastating wildfires in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas in 2016 and 2017 resulted in significant social, economic, and environmental losses, with the agricultural sector among those severely affected. Several satellite-based indices were evaluated as potential monitoring tools for post-wildfire ecological recovery and management of grasslands. All indices evaluated provided useful information and indicated rapid vegetation recovery from wildfire. The Leaf Water Stress Index (LSWI) and Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) showed a distinct response to the wildfire events, and differentiated between burned and unburned areas throughout the post-wildfire growing seasons better than the Normalized Difference Vegetative Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetative Index (EVI). In particular, the LSWI may provide a useful tool for mapping the footprint of wildfire, with potential utility for organizations that provide post-fire recovery resources. The GPP, which estimates the biomass productivity of vegetation, can provide information to livestock operators to guide the re-stocking of cattle in the aftermath of wildfire. In sum, satellite-based proxies can provide timely information both to characterize a wildfire’s footprint and to guide post-fire grazing management in a manner that balances short term needs for forage with long-term productivity and ecological function.
5
Grell, G., S. R. Freitas, M. Stuefer, and J. Fast. "Inclusion of biomass burning in WRF-Chem: impact of wildfires on weather forecasts." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions 10, no. 12 (December 16, 2010): 30613–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acpd-10-30613-2010.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. A plume rise algorithm for wildfires was included in WRF-Chem, and applied to look at the impact of intense wildfires during the 2004 Alaska wildfire season on weather simulations using model resolutions of 10 km and 2 km. Biomass burning emissions were estimated using a biomass burning emissions model. In addition a 1-D time dependent cloud model was used online in WRF-Chem to estimate injection heights as well as the final emission rates. It was shown that with the inclusion of the intense wildfires of the 2004 fire season in the model simulations the interaction of the aerosols with the atmospheric radiation lead to significant modifications of vertical profiles of temperature and moisture in cloud-free areas. On the other hand, when clouds were present, the high concentrations of fine aerosol (PM2.5) and the resulting large numbers of Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) had a strong impact on clouds and microphysics, with decreased precipitation coverage and precipitation amounts during the first 12 h of the integration, but significantly stronger storms during the afternoon hours.
6
López-Cruz, Susana del Carmen, Deb Raj Aryal, Carlos Alberto Velázquez-Sanabria, Francisco Guevara-Hernández, Andrea Venegas-Sandoval, Fernando Casanova-Lugo, Manuel Alejandro La O-Arias, et al. "Effect of Prescribed Burning on Tree Diversity, Biomass Stocks and Soil Organic Carbon Storage in Tropical Highland Forests." Forests 13, no. 12 (December 16, 2022): 2164. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f13122164.
Full textAbstract:
Fire has been an integral part of ecosystem functioning in many biomes for a long time, but the increased intensity and frequency of wildfires often affect plant diversity and carbon storage. Prescribed burning is one of the alternatives to forest fuel management where the fire is controlled and carried out under a determined set of weather conditions and objectives. The effect of prescribed burning on plant diversity and carbon (C) storage has not been studied widely. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of prescribed burning on plant diversity indices, biomass stocks, and soil C storage in the tropical highland forests of Southern Mexico. We assessed plant diversity and carbon stocks at 21 sampling sites: seven with prescribed burning, seven non-burning, and seven with wildfires. We calculated tree biodiversity indices, stand structural properties, and species composition among burning treatments. We quantified C stocks in vegetation biomass by using an allometric equation and forest litter by direct sampling. We analyzed 252 soil samples for soil organic C content and other properties. The results showed that the biodiversity index was higher in sites with prescribed burning (Shannon index, H = 1.26) and non-burning (H = 1.14) than in wildfire sites (H = 0.36). There was a greater similarity in plant species composition between non-burning and prescribed burning sites compared to wildfire sites. Prescribed burning showed a positive effect on soil carbon storage (183.9 Mg C ha−1) when compared to wildfire (144.3 Mg C ha−1), but the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05) in biomass stocks. Prescribed burning in this study conserved plant diversity as well as soil carbon stocks compared to non-burning, the opposite of what we found in wildfires.
7
Liang, Yutong, Rebecca A. Wernis, Kasper Kristensen, Nathan M. Kreisberg, Philip L. Croteau, Scott C. Herndon, Arthur W. H. Chan, Nga L. Ng, and Allen H. Goldstein. "Gas–particle partitioning of semivolatile organic compounds when wildfire smoke comes to town." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 23, no. 19 (October 6, 2023): 12441–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12441-2023.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Wildfires have become an increasingly important source of organic gases and particulate matter in the western USA. A large fraction of organic particulate matter emitted in wildfires is semivolatile, and the oxidation of organic gases in smoke can form lower-volatility products that then condense on smoke particulates. In this research, we measured the gas- and particle-phase concentrations of semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) during the 2017 northern California wildfires in a downwind urban area, using semivolatile thermal desorption aerosol gas chromatography (SV-TAG), and measured SVOCs in a rural site affected by biomass burning using cTAG (comprehensive thermal desorption aerosol gas chromatography mass spectrometry) in Idaho in 2018. Commonly used biomass burning markers such as levoglucosan, mannosan, and nitrocatechols were found to stay predominantly in the particle phase, even when the ambient organic aerosol (OA) was relatively low. The phase partitioning of SVOCs is observed to be dependent on their saturation vapor pressure, while the equilibrium absorption model underpredicts the particle-phase fraction of most of the compounds measured. Wildfire organic aerosol enhanced the condensation of polar compounds into the particle phase but not some nonpolar compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
8
Grell, G., S. R. Freitas, M. Stuefer, and J. Fast. "Inclusion of biomass burning in WRF-Chem: impact of wildfires on weather forecasts." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 11, no. 11 (June 6, 2011): 5289–303. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-5289-2011.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. A plume rise algorithm for wildfires was included in WRF-Chem, and applied to look at the impact of intense wildfires during the 2004 Alaska wildfire season on weather simulations using model resolutions of 10 km and 2 km. Biomass burning emissions were estimated using a biomass burning emissions model. In addition, a 1-D, time-dependent cloud model was used online in WRF-Chem to estimate injection heights as well as the vertical distribution of the emission rates. It was shown that with the inclusion of the intense wildfires of the 2004 fire season in the model simulations, the interaction of the aerosols with the atmospheric radiation led to significant modifications of vertical profiles of temperature and moisture in cloud-free areas. On the other hand, when clouds were present, the high concentrations of fine aerosol (PM2.5) and the resulting large numbers of Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) had a strong impact on clouds and cloud microphysics, with decreased precipitation coverage and precipitation amounts during the first 12 h of the integration. During the afternoon, storms were of convective nature and appeared significantly stronger, probably as a result of both the interaction of aerosols with radiation (through an increase in CAPE) as well as the interaction with cloud microphysics.
9
Sitnov, S. A., and I. I. Mokhov. "Transport of biomass burning products from Siberian wildfires into the Arctic." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1040, no. 1 (June 1, 2022): 012005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1040/1/012005.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract The study of the long-range transport of biomass burning products from Siberian wildfires into the Arctic atmosphere during the period of 2000-2019 is presented. An analysis of the characteristics of forest fires over the past 20 years revealed an increase in radiation power of an average Siberian wildfire, which is characterized by a statistically significant linear trend of 1.7 ± 1.0% / year. A joint analysis of fire activity in Siberian forests, as well as the contents of the black carbon (BC) and carbon monoxide (CO) contents in the Arctic atmosphere, indicates that extreme fire events force the development of regional anomalies in BC and CO. Correlation between the anomalies of BC (CO) over the Russian segment of the Arctic and the number of Siberian wildfires is found to be statistically significant at the α = 0.05 level and reach the value r = 0.77 (0.48) during the summer months. Using a linear regression model, an estimate of the sensitivity of changes in the total BC content and in the volume mixing ratio of CO at the 700-hPa level in the 1.910-8 kg⋅m-2 per 1000 fires and 0.4 ppbv per 1000 fires, respectively. The results of a detailed analysis of the long-range BC transport into the Arctic during catastrophic Siberian wildfires in the summer of 2019 are presented. It is shown that the considered episode was conditioned by the features of the large-scale atmospheric circulation characteristic for the atmospheric blocking event.
10
Urbanski, S. P. "Combustion efficiency and emission factors for US wildfires." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions 13, no. 1 (January 3, 2013): 33–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acpd-13-33-2013.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. In the US wildfires and prescribed burning present significant challenges to air regulatory agencies attempting to achieve and maintain compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and Regional Haze Regulations. Wildland fire emission inventories (EI) provide critical inputs for atmospheric chemical transport models used by air regulatory agencies to understand and to predict the impact of fires on air quality. Fire emission factors (EF), which quantify the amount of pollutants released per mass of biomass burned, are essential input for the emission models used to develop EI. Over the past decade substantial progress has been realized in characterizing the composition of fresh biomass burning (BB) smoke and in quantifying BB EF. However, most BB studies of temperate ecosystems have focused on emissions from prescribed burning. Little information is available on EF for wildfires in the temperate forests of the conterminous US. Current emission estimates for US wildfires rely largely on EF measurements from prescribed burns and it is unknown if these fires are a reasonable proxy for wildfires. Over 8 days in August of 2011 we deployed airborne chemistry instruments and sampled emissions from 3 wildfires and a prescribed fire that occurred in mixed conifer forests of the northern Rocky Mountains. We measured the combustion efficiency, quantified as the modified combustion efficiency (MCE), and EF for CO2, CO, and CH4. Our study average values for MCE, EFCO2, EFCO, and EFCH4 were 0.883, 1596 g kg−1, 135 g kg−1, 7.30 g kg−1, respectively. Compared with previous field studies of prescribed fires in similar forest types, the fires sampled in our study had significantly lower MCE and EFCO2 and significantly higher EFCO and EFCH4. An examination of our study and 47 temperate forest prescribed fires from previously published studies shows a clear trend in MCE across US region/fire type: southeast (MCE = 0.933) > southwest (MCE = 0.922) > northwest (MCE = 0.900) > northwest wildfires (MCE = 0.883). The fires sampled in this work burned in areas reported to have moderate to heavy components of standing dead trees and dead down wood due to insect activity and previous fire, but fuel consumption data was not available for any of the fires. However, fuel consumption data was available for 18 prescribed fires reported in the literature. For these 18 fires we found a significant negative correlation (r =-0.83, p-value = 1.7e-5) between MCE and the ratio of heavy fuel (large diameter dead wood and duff) consumption to total fuel consumption. This observation suggests the relatively low MCE measured for the fires in our study resulted from the availability of heavy fuels and conditions that facilitated combustion of these fuels. More generally, our measurements and the comparison with previous studies indicate that fuel composition is an important driver of variability in MCE and EF. This study only measured EF for CO2, CO, and CH4; however, we used our study average MCE to estimate wildfire EF for PM2.5 and 13 other species using EF–MCE linear relationships reported in the literature. The EF we derived for several non-methane organic compounds (NMOC) were substantially larger (by a factor of 1.5 to 4) than the published prescribed fire EF. Wildfire EFPM2.5 estimated in our analysis is approximately twice that reported for temperate forests in a two widely used reviews of BB emission studies. Likewise, western US wildfire PM2.5 emissions reported in a recent national emission inventory are based on an effective EFPM2.5 that is only 40% of that estimated in our study. If the MCE of the fires sampled in this work are representative of the combustion characteristics of wildfires across western US forests then the use of EF based on prescribed fires may result in a significant underestimate of wildfire PM2.5 and NMOC emissions. Given the magnitude of biomass consumed by western US wildfires, the failure to use wildfire appropriate EFPM2.5 has significant implications for the forecasting and management of regional air quality. The contribution of wildfires to NAAQS PM2.5 and Regional Haze may be underestimated by air regulatory agencies.
11
Leifer, Ira, Michael T. Kleinman, Donald Blake, David Tratt, and Charlotte Marston. "Wildfire Smoke Exposure: Covid19 Comorbidity?" Journal of Respiration 1, no. 1 (February 12, 2021): 74–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jor1010007.
Full textAbstract:
Air pollution, particularly fine and ultrafine particulate matter aerosols, underlies a wide range of communicable and non-communicable disease affecting many systems including the cardiopulmonary and immune systems, and arises primarily from transportation and industry. A number of air pollution driven diseases also are Covid19 comorbidities. Thus, a number of studies on air pollution exposure, particularly particulate matter, strongly indicate air pollution is an important underlying factor in Covid19 transmission, severity, and mortality. This suggests that air pollution from natural sources, particularly wildfires, could play a role in the Covid19 pandemic. We tested this hypothesis on three wildfire smoke events in Orange County, CA, each of which was followed by Covid19 case increases after an approximately one-week lag. This lag was consistent with combined incubation time and testing/reporting times. Moreover, the three events suggest a dose dependency. The wildfire comorbidity hypothesis implies that at-risk-populations should reduce smoke exposure from wildfires, as well as indoors from biomass burning for heating, cooking, and aesthetic purposes.
12
Pereboom, Eleanor MB, Richard S. Vachula, Yongsong Huang, and James Russell. "The morphology of experimentally produced charcoal distinguishes fuel types in the Arctic tundra." Holocene 30, no. 7 (March 9, 2020): 1091–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0959683620908629.
Full textAbstract:
Wildfires in the Arctic tundra have become increasingly frequent in recent years and have important implications for tundra ecosystems and for the global carbon cycle. Lake sediment–based records are the primary means of understanding the climatic influences on tundra fires. Sedimentary charcoal has been used to infer climate-driven changes in tundra fire frequency but thus far cannot differentiate characteristics of the vegetation burnt during fire events. In forested ecosystems, charcoal morphologies have been used to distinguish changes in fuel type consumed by wildfires of the past; however, no such approach has been developed for tundra ecosystems. We show experimentally that charcoal morphologies can be used to differentiate graminoid (mean = 6.77; standard deviation (SD) = 0.23) and shrub (mean = 2.42; SD = 1.86) biomass burnt in tundra fire records. This study is a first step needed to construct more nuanced tundra wildfire histories and to understand how wildfire will impact the region as vegetation and fire change in the future.
13
Chen, Fang, Keith T. Weber, Jamey Anderson, and Bhushan Gokhal. "Assessing the susceptibility of semiarid rangelands to wildfires using Terra MODIS and Landsat Thematic Mapper data." International Journal of Wildland Fire 20, no. 5 (2011): 690. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wf10001.
Full textAbstract:
In order to monitor wildfires at broad spatial scales and with frequent periodicity, satellite remote sensing techniques have been used in many studies. Rangeland susceptibility to wildfires closely relates to accumulated fuel load. The normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) and fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (fPAR) are key variables used by many ecological models to estimate biomass and vegetation productivity. Subsequently, both NDVI and fPAR data have become an indirect means of deriving fuel load information. For these reasons, NDVI and fPAR, derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on-board Terra and Landsat Thematic Mapper imagery, were used to represent prefire vegetation changes in fuel load preceding the Millennial and Crystal Fires of 2000 and 2006 in the rangelands of south-east Idaho respectively. NDVI and fPAR change maps were calculated between active growth and late-summer senescence periods and compared with precipitation, temperature, forage biomass and percentage ground cover data. The results indicate that NDVI and fPAR value changes 2 years before the fire were greater than those 1 year before fire as an abundance of grasses existed 2 years before each wildfire based on field forage biomass sampling. NDVI and fPAR have direct implication for the assessment of prefire vegetation change. Therefore, rangeland susceptibility to wildfire may be estimated using NDVI and fPAR change analysis. Furthermore, fPAR change data may be included as an input source for early fire warning models, and may increase the accuracy and efficiency of fire and fuel load management in semiarid rangelands.
14
Shikwambana, Lerato, and John Bosco Habarulema. "Analysis of Wildfires in the Mid and High Latitudes Using a Multi-Dataset Approach: A Case Study in California and Krasnoyarsk Krai." Atmosphere 13, no. 3 (March 7, 2022): 428. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos13030428.
Full textAbstract:
In this study, we investigate the emissions from wildfires in the mid latitude (California) and high latitude (Krasnoyarsk Krai) during the periods of 16–17 August 2020 and 28 July 2019, respectively. Wildfires are unique in themselves as they are driven by various factors such as fuel type, topology, and meteorology. In this study, we analyze whether there are any major variations in the emissions and transport of pollutants between two large wildfire cases in the mid latitude of California and high latitude of Krasnoyarsk Krai. The study is important to understand and characterize the emission regime from biomass burning of different land covers using a mutli-dataset approach. We analyze whether there are any major variations in the emissions and transport of pollutants from these wildfires. For example, the aerosol extinction coefficient profile showed smoke detected at the highest altitude of 9 km in Krasnoyarsk Krai, whereas in California the highest altitude was observed at approximately 6 km. Moreover, large values of black carbon (BC) concentration were observed in Krasnoyarsk Krai approximately 7 µg/m3 compared to the 0.44 µg/m3 observed in California. Areas with an immense dense vegetation are prone to large emissions. The results from this case study suggest that high latitude wildfires emit more pollutants than mid latitude wildfires. However, more studies in the future will be conducted to conclude this observation and finding with certainty.
15
Kganyago and Shikwambana. "Assessing Spatio-Temporal Variability of Wildfires and their Impact on Sub-Saharan Ecosystems and Air Quality Using Multisource Remotely Sensed Data and Trend Analysis." Sustainability 11, no. 23 (November 30, 2019): 6811. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su11236811.
Full textAbstract:
Globally, wildfires are considered the most commonly occurring disasters, resulting from natural and anthropogenic ignition sources. Wildfires consist of burning standing biomass at erratic degrees of intensity, severity, and frequency. Consequently, wildfires generate large amounts of smoke and other toxic pollutants that have devastating impacts on ambient air quality and human health. There is, therefore, a need for a comprehensive study that characterizes land–atmosphere interactions with regard to wildfires, critical for understanding the interrelated and multidimensional impacts of wildfires. Current studies have a limited scope and a narrow focus, usually only focusing on one aspect of wildfire impacts, such as air quality without simultaneously considering the impacts on land surface changes and vice versa. In this study, we use several multisource data to determine the spatial distribution, frequency, disturbance characteristics of and variability and distribution of pollutants emitted by wildfires. The specific objectives were to (1) study the sources of wildfires and the period they are prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa over a 9 year period, i.e., 2007–2016, (2) estimate the seasonal disturbance of wildfires on various vegetation types, (3) determine the spatial distribution of black carbon (BC), carbon monoxide (CO) and smoke, and (4) determine the vertical height distribution of smoke. The results show largest burned areas in December–January–February (DJF), June–July–August (JJA) and September–October–November (SON) seasons, and reciprocal high emissions of BC, CO, and smoke, as observed by Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2) and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO). In addition, the results reveal an increasing trend in the magnitude of BC, and CO concentration driven by meteorological conditions such as low precipitation, low relative humidity, and low latent heat flux. Overall, this study demonstrates the value of multisource remotely sensed data in characterising long-term wildfire patterns and associated emissions. The results in this study are critical for informing better regional fire management and air quality control strategies to preserve endangered species and habitats, promote sustainable land management, and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions.
16
Guo, Li, Wen, and Huang. "Estimation of CO2 Emissions from Wildfires Using OCO-2 Data." Atmosphere 10, no. 10 (September 25, 2019): 581. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos10100581.
Full textAbstract:
The biomass burning model (BBM) has been the most widely used method for estimation of trace gas emissions. Due to the difficulty and variability in obtaining various necessary parameters of BBM, a new method is needed to quickly and accurately calculate the trace gas emissions from wildfires. Here, we used satellite data from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) to calculate CO2 emissions from wildfires (the OCO-2 model). Four active wildfires in Siberia were selected in which OCO-2 points intersecting with smoke plumes identified by Aqua MODIS (MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) images. MODIS band 8, band 21 and MISR (Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer) data were used to identify the smoke plume area, burned area and smoke plume height, respectively. By contrast with BBM, which calculates CO2 emissions based on the bottom–top mode, the OCO-2 model estimates CO2 emissions based on the top–bottom mode. We used a linear regression model to compute CO2 concentration (XCO2) for each smoke plume pixel and then calculated CO2 emissions for each wildfire point. The CO2 mass of each smoke plume pixel was added to obtain the CO2 emissions from wildfires. After verifying our results with the BBM, we found that the biases were between 25.76% and 157.11% for the four active fires. The OCO-2 model displays the advantages of remote-sensing technology and is a useful tool for fire-emission monitoring, although we note some of its disadvantages. This study proposed a new perspective to estimate CO2 emissions from wildfire and effectively expands the applied range of OCO-2 satellite data.
17
Georgiev, Christo G., Stephen A. Tjemkes, Athanasios Karagiannidis, Jose Prieto, and Konstantinos Lagouvardos. "Observational Analyses of Dry Intrusions and Increased Ozone Concentrations in the Environment of Wildfires." Atmosphere 13, no. 4 (April 8, 2022): 597. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos13040597.
Full textAbstract:
In this study, atmospheric dynamical processes, which govern the intensification of wildfire activity and the associated increase in low-level ozone concentrations, were studied using images, advanced products and vertical profiles derived from satellite observations. The analyses confirm that the influence of deep stratospheric intrusions, identified in the satellite water vapor imagery, on a fire-risk area contributes to the increase in fire activity. The depth of dry stratospheric intrusions, the associated synoptic evolution and the enhanced low-level ozone concentrations caused by vertical transport of stratospheric air and/or related to biomass burning emissions were analyzed using satellite measurements from SEVIRI, IASI and CrIS instruments, complemented with surface observations near the wildfires’ locations. It is shown that the spatial and vertical resolutions of these soundings provide a way of identifying areas of enhanced ozone downwind of wildfires. Influences of the upper-troposphere dynamics and the wind field evolution as factors of uncertainty and complexity in studying the ozone production from wildfire emissions are considered. The combination of satellite soundings and satellite estimations of fire radiative energy and WV imagery may contribute to better understand the ozone enhancement associated with stratospheric intrusion and wildfire emissions.
18
Adame, Patricia, Isabel Cañellas, Daniel Moreno-Fernández, Tuula Packalen, Laura Hernández, and Iciar Alberdi. "Analyzing the Joint Effect of Forest Management and Wildfires on Living Biomass and Carbon Stocks in Spanish Forests." Forests 11, no. 11 (November 19, 2020): 1219. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f11111219.
Full textAbstract:
Research Highlights: This is the first study that has considered forest management and wildfires in the balance of living biomass and carbon stored in Mediterranean forests. Background and Objectives: The Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement request countries to estimate and report carbon emissions and removals from the forest in a transparent and reliable way. The aim of this study is to forecast the carbon stored in the living biomass of Spanish forests for the period 2000–2050 under two forest management alternatives and three forest wildfires scenarios. Materials and Methods: To produce these estimates, we rely on data from the Spanish National Forest Inventory (SNFI) and we use the European Forestry Dynamics Model (EFDM). SNFI plots were classified according to five static (forest type, known land-use restrictions, ownership, stand structure and bioclimatic region) and two dynamic factors (quadratic mean diameter and total volume). The results were validated using data from the latest SNFI cycle (20-year simulation). Results: The increase in wildfire occurrence will lead to a decrease in biomass/carbon between 2000 and 2050 of up to 22.7% in the medium–low greenhouse gas emissions scenario (B2 scenario) and of up to 32.8% in the medium–high greenhouse gas emissions scenario (A2 scenario). Schoolbook allocation management could buffer up to 3% of wildfire carbon loss. The most stable forest type under both wildfire scenarios are Dehesas. As regards bioregions, the Macaronesian area is the most affected and the Alpine region, the least affected. Our validation test revealed a total volume underestimation of 2.2% in 20 years. Conclusions: Forest wildfire scenarios provide more realistic simulations in Mediterranean forests. The results show the potential benefit of forest management, with slightly better results in schoolbook forest management compared to business-as-usual forest management. The EFDM harmonized approach simulates the capacity of forests to store carbon under different scenarios at national scale in Spain, providing important information for optimal decision-making on forest-related policies.
19
Nakata, Makiko, Itaru Sano, Sonoyo Mukai, and Alexander Kokhanovsky. "Characterization of Wildfire Smoke over Complex Terrain Using Satellite Observations, Ground-Based Observations, and Meteorological Models." Remote Sensing 14, no. 10 (May 12, 2022): 2344. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs14102344.
Full textAbstract:
The severity of wildfires is increasing globally. In this study, we used data from the Global Change Observation Mission-Climate/Second-generation Global Imager (GCOM-C/SGLI) to characterize the biomass burning aerosols that are generated by large-scale wildfires. We used data from the September 2020 wildfires in western North America. The target area had a complex topography, comprising a basin among high mountains along a coastal region. The SGLI was essential for dealing with the complex topographical changes in terrain that we encountered, as it contains 19 polarization channels ranging from near ultraviolet (380 nm and 412 nm) to thermal infrared (red at 674 nm and near-infrared at 869 nm) and has a fine spatial resolution (1 km). The SGLI also proved to be efficient in the radiative transfer simulations of severe wildfires through the mutual use of polarization and radiance. We used a regional numerical model SCALE (Scalable Computing for Advanced Library and Environment) to account for variations in meteorological conditions and/or topography. Ground-based aerosol measurements in the target area were sourced from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Aerosol Robotic Network; currently, official satellite products typically do not provide the aerosol properties for very optically thick cases of wildfires. This paper used satellite observations, ground-based observations, and a meteorological model to define an algorithm for retrieving the aerosol properties caused by severe wildfire events.
20
Sae-Lim, Jarunetr, James M. Russell, Richard S. Vachula, Robert M. Holmes, Paul J. Mann, John D. Schade, and Susan M. Natali. "Temperature-controlled tundra fire severity and frequency during the last millennium in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska." Holocene 29, no. 7 (March 27, 2019): 1223–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0959683619838036.
Full textAbstract:
Wildfire is an important disturbance to Arctic tundra ecosystems. In the coming decades, tundra fire frequency, intensity, and extent are projected to increase because of anthropogenic climate change. To more accurately predict the effects of climate change on tundra fire regimes, it is critical to have detailed knowledge of the natural frequency and extent of past wildfires and how they responded to past climate variability. We present analyses of fire frequency and temperature from a lake sediment core from the Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta. Our ca. 1000 macroscopic charcoal record shows more frequent but possibly less severe tundra fires during the first half of the last millennium, whereas less frequent, possibly more severe fires characterize the latter half. Our temperature reconstruction, based on distributional changes of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs), shows slightly warmer conditions from ca. AD 1000 to 1500, and cooler conditions thereafter (ca. AD 1500 to 2000), suggesting that fire frequency increases when climate is relatively warmer in this region. When wildfires occur more frequently, fire severity may decrease because of limited biomass (fuel source) accumulating between fires. The data suggest that tundra ecosystems are highly sensitive to climate change, and that a warmer climate, which is predicted to develop in the near future, will result in more frequent tundra wildfires.
21
Chiang, Shou-Hao, and Noel Ivan Ulloa. "Mapping and Tracking Forest Burnt Areas in the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve Using Sentinel-3 SLSTR and VIIRS-DNB Imagery." Sensors 19, no. 24 (December 9, 2019): 5423. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s19245423.
Full textAbstract:
Wildfires are considered one of the most major hazards and environmental issues worldwide. Recently, Earth observation satellite (EOS) sensors have proven to be effective for wildfire detection, although the quality and usefulness of the data are often hindered by cloud presence. One practical workaround is to combine datasets from multiple sensors. This research presents a methodology that utilizes data of the recently-launched Sentinel-3 sea and land surface temperature radiometer (S3-SLSTR) to reflect its applicability for detecting wildfires. In addition, visible infrared imaging radiometer suite day night band (VIIRS-DNB) imagery was introduced to assure day-night tracking capabilities. The wildfire event in the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve, Nicaragua, during 3–13 April 2018, was the study case. Six S3-SLSTR images were processed to compute spectral indices, such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the normalized difference water index (NDWI), and the normalized burn ratio (NBR), to perform image segmentation for estimating the burnt area. The results indicate that 5870.7 ha of forest was affected during the wildfire, close to the 5945 ha reported by local authorities. In this study, the fire expansion was delineated and tracked in the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve using a modified fast marching method on nighttime-sensed temporal VIIRS-DNB. This study shows the importance of S3-SLSRT for wildfire monitoring and how it can be complemented with VIIRS-DNB to track burning biomass at daytime and nighttime.
22
Savenets, Mykhailo, Larysa Pysarenko, Svitlana Krakovska, Alexander Mahura, and Tuukka Petäjä. "Enviro-HIRLAM model estimates of elevated black carbon pollution over Ukraine resulted from forest fires." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 22, no. 24 (December 16, 2022): 15777–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15777-2022.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Biomass burning is one of the biggest sources of atmospheric black carbon (BC), which negatively impacts human health and contributes to climate forcing. In this work, we explore the horizontal and vertical variability of BC concentrations over Ukraine during wildfires in August 2010. Using the Enviro-HIRLAM modelling framework, the BC atmospheric transport was modelled for coarse, accumulation, and Aitken mode aerosol particles emitted by the wildfire. Elevated pollution levels were observed within the boundary layer. The influence of the BC emissions from the wildfire was identified up to 550 hPa level for the coarse and accumulation modes and at distances of about 2000 km from the fire areas. BC was mainly transported in the lowest 3 km layer and mainly deposited at night and in the morning hours due to the formation of strong surface temperature inversions. As modelling is the only available source of BC data in Ukraine, our results were compared with ground-level measurements of dust, which showed an increase in concentration of up to 73 % during wildfires in comparison to average values. The BC contribution was found to be 10 %–20 % of the total aerosol mass near the wildfires in the lowest 2 km layer. At a distance, BC contribution exceeded 10 % only in urban areas. In the areas with a high BC content represented by both accumulation and coarse modes, downwelling surface long-wave radiation increased up to 20 W m−2, and 2 m air temperature increased by 1–4 ∘C during the midday hours. The findings of this case study can help to understand the behaviour of BC distribution and possible direct aerosol effects during anticyclonic conditions, which are often observed in mid-latitudes in the summer and lead to wildfire occurrences.
23
Mekonnen, Zelalem A., William J. Riley, James T. Randerson, Ian A. Shirley, Nicholas J. Bouskill, and Robert F. Grant. "Wildfire exacerbates high-latitude soil carbon losses from climate warming." Environmental Research Letters 17, no. 9 (September 1, 2022): 094037. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac8be6.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Arctic and boreal permafrost soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition has been slower than carbon inputs from plant growth since the last glaciation. Anthropogenic climate warming has threatened this historical trend by accelerating SOC decomposition and altering wildfire regimes. We accurately modeled observed plant biomass and carbon emissions from wildfires in Alaskan ecosystems under current climate conditions. In projections to 2300 under the RCP8.5 climate scenario, we found that warming and increased atmospheric CO2 will result in plant biomass gains and higher litterfall. However, increased carbon losses from (a) wildfire combustion and (b) rapid SOC decomposition driven by increased deciduous litter production, root exudation, and active layer depth will lead to about 4.4 PgC of soil carbon losses from Alaska by 2300 and most (88%) of these loses will be from the top 1 m of soil. These SOC losses offset plant carbon gains, causing the ecosystem to transition to a net carbon source after 2200. Simulations excluding wildfire increases yielded about a factor of four lower SOC losses by 2300. Our results show that projected wildfire and its direct and indirect effects on plant and soil carbon may accelerate high-latitude soil carbon losses, resulting in a positive feedback to climate change.
24
Patoine, A., B. Pinel-Alloul, E. E. Prepas, and R. Carignan. "Do logging and forest fires influence zooplankton biomass in Canadian Boreal Shield lakes?" Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57, S2 (September 7, 2000): 155–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f00-105.
Full textAbstract:
Zooplankton biomass was assessed in 20 reference lakes, nine logged-watershed lakes, and nine burned-watershed lakes during three summers following watershed disturbances by logging or wildfires. Biomass of cladocerans, calanoids, cyclopoids, and rotifers was quantified in the 38 lakes for the first year following disturbances. Limnoplankton biomass in four size fractions was quantified during 3 years following disturbances. One year after disturbances, burned-watershed lakes supported 59% more biomass of the rotifer size fraction of limnoplankton (100-200 µm) than reference lakes, while logged-watershed lakes supported 43% less of calanoid biomass. Two years after disturbances, differences in limnoplankton biomass between burned-watershed lakes and reference lakes were more pronounced than during the first year, while logged-watershed lakes supported levels of limnoplankton biomass no different from those of reference lakes. Three years after disturbances, no significant variations could be detected among the three groups of lakes for any of the limnoplankton size fractions. The proportion of watershed area impacted by logging activities was on average less than half the proportion impacted by wildfires. Nonetheless, both types of disturbances seemed to have opposite effects on the zooplankton biomass during the first year, and the effects did not extend beyond 2 years.
25
Urbanski, S. P. "Combustion efficiency and emission factors for wildfire-season fires in mixed conifer forests of the northern Rocky Mountains, US." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 13, no. 14 (July 30, 2013): 7241–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-7241-2013.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. In the US, wildfires and prescribed burning present significant challenges to air regulatory agencies attempting to achieve and maintain compliance with air quality regulations. Fire emission factors (EF) are essential input for the emission models used to develop wildland fire emission inventories. Most previous studies quantifying wildland fire EF of temperate ecosystems have focused on emissions from prescribed burning conducted outside of the wildfire season. Little information is available on EF for wildfires in temperate forests of the conterminous US. The goal of this work is to provide information on emissions from wildfire-season forest fires in the northern Rocky Mountains, US. In August 2011, we deployed airborne chemistry instruments and sampled emissions over eight days from three wildfires and a prescribed fire that occurred in mixed conifer forests of the northern Rocky Mountains. We measured the combustion efficiency, quantified as the modified combustion efficiency (MCE), and EF for CO2, CO, and CH4. Our study average values for MCE, EFCO2, EFCO, and EFCH4 were 0.883, 1596 g kg−1, 135 g kg−1, 7.30 g kg−1, respectively. Compared with previous field studies of prescribed fires in temperate forests, the fires sampled in our study had significantly lower MCE and EFCO2 and significantly higher EFCO and EFCH4. The fires sampled in this study burned in areas reported to have moderate to heavy components of standing dead trees and down dead wood due to insect activity and previous fire, but fuel consumption data was not available. However, an analysis of MCE and fuel consumption data from 18 prescribed fires reported in the literature indicates that the availability of coarse fuels and conditions favorable for the combustion of these fuels favors low MCE fires. This analysis suggests that fuel composition was an important factor contributing to the low MCE of the fires measured in this study. This study only measured EF for CO2, CO, and CH4; however, we used our study average MCE to provide rough estimates of wildfire-season EF for PM2.5 and four non-methane organic compounds (NMOC) using MCE and EF data reported in the literature. This analysis suggests the EFPM2.5 for wildfires that occur in forests of the northern Rocky Mountains may be significantly larger than those reported for temperate forests in the literature and that used in a recent national emission inventory. If the MCE of the fires sampled in this work are representative of the combustion characteristics of wildfire-season fires in similar forest types across the western US then the use of EF based on prescribed fires may result in an underestimate of wildfire PM2.5 and NMOC emissions. Given the magnitude of biomass consumed by western US wildfires, this may have important implications for the forecasting and management of regional air quality.
26
Fernández-Álvarez, Marta, Julia Armesto, and Juan Picos. "LiDAR-Based Wildfire Prevention in WUI: The Automatic Detection, Measurement and Evaluation of Forest Fuels." Forests 10, no. 2 (February 11, 2019): 148. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f10020148.
Full textAbstract:
This paper describes a methodology using LiDAR point clouds with an ultra-high resolution in the characterization of forest fuels for further wildfire prevention and management. Biomass management strips were defined in three case studies using a particular Spanish framework. The data were acquired through a UAV platform. The proposed methodology allows for the detection, measurement and characterization of individual trees, as well as the analysis of shrubs. The individual tree segmentation process employed a canopy height model, and shrub cover LiDAR-derived models were used to characterize the vegetation in the strips. This way, the verification of the geometric legal restrictions was performed automatically and objectively using decision trees and GIS tools. As a result, priority areas, where wildfire prevention efforts should be concentrated in order to control wildfires, can be identified.
27
Fernandez, Helena Maria, Fernando M. Granja-Martins, Celestina M. G. Pedras, Patrícia Fernandes, and Jorge M. G. P. Isidoro. "An Assessment of Forest Fires and CO2 Gross Primary Production from 1991 to 2019 in Mação (Portugal)." Sustainability 13, no. 11 (May 21, 2021): 5816. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13115816.
Full textAbstract:
Forest-fire rates have increased in Southern European landscapes. These fires damage forest ecosystems and alter their development. During the last few decades, an increase in fast-growing and highly fuel-bearing plant species such as bush, Eucalyptus globulus Labill., and Pinus pinaster Ait. has been observable in the interior of Portugal. This study aims to verify this assumption by the quantification of the biomass carbon sink in the forests of the Mação municipality. Maps of fire severity and forest biomass evolution after a wildfire event were produced for the period of 1991 to 2019. To quantify carbon retention in this region, this evolution was correlated with gross primary production (GPP) on the basis of satellite imagery from Landsat 5, Landsat 8, and MODIS MYD17A2H. Results show that wildfires in Mação increased in area and severity with each passing decade due to the large accumulation of biomass promoted by the abandonment of rural areas. Before the large fires of 2003, 2017, and 2019, carbon rates reached a daily maximum of 5.4, 5.3, and 4.7 gC/m2/day, respectively, showing a trend of forest-biomass accumulation in the Mação municipality.
28
Silva, Camila V. J., Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, Jos Barlow, Fernando Espirito-Santo, Paul J. Young, Liana O. Anderson, Erika Berenguer, et al. "Drought-induced Amazonian wildfires instigate a decadal-scale disruption of forest carbon dynamics." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 373, no. 1760 (October 8, 2018): 20180043. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2018.0043.
Full textAbstract:
Drought-induced wildfires have increased in frequency and extent over the tropics. Yet, the long-term (greater than 10 years) responses of Amazonian lowland forests to fire disturbance are poorly known. To understand post-fire forest biomass dynamics, and to assess the time required for fire-affected forests to recover to pre-disturbance levels, we combined 16 single with 182 multiple forest census into a unique large-scale and long-term dataset across the Brazilian Amazonia. We quantified biomass, mortality and wood productivity of burned plots along a chronosequence of up to 31 years post-fire and compared to surrounding unburned plots measured simultaneously. Stem mortality and growth were assessed among functional groups. At the plot level, we found that fire-affected forests have biomass levels 24.8 ± 6.9% below the biomass value of unburned control plots after 31 years. This lower biomass state results from the elevated levels of biomass loss through mortality, which is not sufficiently compensated for by wood productivity (incremental growth + recruitment). At the stem level, we found major changes in mortality and growth rates up to 11 years post-fire. The post-fire stem mortality rates exceeded unburned control plots by 680% (i.e. greater than 40 cm diameter at breast height (DBH); 5–8 years since last fire) and 315% (i.e. greater than 0.7 g cm −3 wood density; 0.75–4 years since last fire). Our findings indicate that wildfires in humid tropical forests can significantly reduce forest biomass for decades by enhancing mortality rates of all trees, including large and high wood density trees, which store the largest amount of biomass in old-growth forests. This assessment of stem dynamics, therefore, demonstrates that wildfires slow down or stall the post-fire recovery of Amazonian forests. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The impact of the 2015/2016 El Niño on the terrestrial tropical carbon cycle: patterns, mechanisms and implications’.
29
Khalofah, Ahlam, Hamed A. Ghramh, Rahmah N. Al-Qthanin, and Boullbaba L’taief. "The impact of NPK fertilizer on growth and nutrient accumulation in juniper (Juniperus procera) trees grown on fire-damaged and intact soils." PLOS ONE 17, no. 1 (January 27, 2022): e0262685. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262685.
Full textAbstract:
Wildfires significantly alter soil properties and result in vegetation shifts; therefore, rapid reforestation activities are needed in the forests affected by wildfires. The decreased nutrient in the soil is the obvious effect of wildfires; however, little is known about the reforestation of Juniper (Juniperus procera) forests with application of NPK fertilizers. Juniper forests are common in Asir and Taif regions of Saudi Arabia and vulnerable to wildfires; thus, reforestation is needed after the onset of fires. This study assessed the impact of different doses of organic NPK fertilizer (0, 5 and 10 g/L) on growth and nutrient accumulation of Juniper trees grown on fire-damaged and intact soils. Data relating to tree height, number of leaves per plant, fresh and dry biomass accumulation in shoot and root, chlorophyll contents and uptake of N, P, K, and Na were recorded. Individual and interactive effects of soil types and fertilizer doses significantly altered all measured traits with minor exceptions. Overall, higher values of the measured traits were recorded for intact soil and 10 g/L fertilize dose. The increasing fertilizer doses improved the growth and nutrient acquisition and application of 10 g/L fertilizer on intact soil recorded the highest values of growth traits. Juniper trees grown on fire-damaged soil accumulated higher amount of nitrogen than intact soil. Similarly, the trees grown on intact soil accumulated lower amount of Na and maintained comparable K/Na ratio to intact soil. It is concluded that supplying 10 g/L fertilizer could improve the establishment of Juniper trees on fire-damaged soil. Therefore, organic fertilizer can be used to improve the reforestation of wildfire-affected Juniper forests in the Asir province.
30
Lehsten, V., K. Tansey, H. Balzter, K. Thonicke, A. Spessa, U. Weber, B. Smith, and A. Arneth. "Estimating carbon emissions from African wildfires." Biogeosciences 6, no. 3 (March 6, 2009): 349–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bg-6-349-2009.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. We developed a technique for studying seasonal and interannual variation in pyrogenic carbon emissions from Africa using a modelling approach that scales burned area estimates from L3JRC, a map recently generated from remote sensing of burn scars instead of active fires. Carbon fluxes were calculated by the novel fire model SPITFIRE embedded within the dynamic vegetation model framework LPJ-GUESS, using daily climate input. For the time period from 2001 to 2005 an average area of 195.5±24×104 km2 was burned annually, releasing an average of 723±70 Tg C to the atmosphere; these estimates for the biomass burned are within the range of previously published estimates. Despite the fact that the majority of wildfires are ignited by humans, strong relationships between climatic conditions (particularly precipitation), net primary productivity and overall biomass burnt emerged. Our investigation of the relationships between burnt area and carbon emissions and their potential drivers available litter and precipitation revealed uni-modal responses to annual precipitation, with a maximum around 1000 mm for burned area and emissions, or 1200 mm for litter availability. Similar response patterns identified in savannahs worldwide point to precipitation as a chief determinant for short-term variation in fire regime. A considerable variability that cannot be explained by fire-precipitation relationships alone indicates the existence of additional factors that must be taken into account.
31
de Groot, W. J., J. M. Pritchard, and T. J. Lynham. "Forest floor fuel consumption and carbon emissions in Canadian boreal forest fires." Canadian Journal of Forest Research 39, no. 2 (February 2009): 367–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x08-192.
Full textAbstract:
In many forest types, over half of the total stand biomass is located in the forest floor. Carbon emissions during wildland fire are directly related to biomass (fuel) consumption. Consumption of forest floor fuel varies widely and is the greatest source of uncertainty in estimating total carbon emissions during fire. We used experimental burn data (59 burns, four fuel types) and wildfire data (69 plots, four fuel types) to develop a model of forest floor fuel consumption and carbon emissions in nonpeatland standing-timber fuel types. The experimental burn and wildfire data sets were analyzed separately and combined by regression to provide fuel consumption models. Model variables differed among fuel types, but preburn fuel load, duff depth, bulk density, and Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System components at the time of burning were common significant variables. The regression R2 values ranged from 0.206 to 0.980 (P < 0.001). The log–log model for all data combined explained 79.5% of the regression variation and is now being used to estimate annual carbon emissions from wildland fire. Forest floor carbon content at the wildfires ranged from 40.9% to 53.9%, and the carbon emission rate ranged from 0.29 to 2.43 kg·m–2.
32
Olmedo, Guillermo Federico, Horacio Gilabert, Horacio Bown, Rebeca Sanhueza, Pía Silva, Carlos Jorquera-Stuardo, and Francisco Sierra. "Improving the Combustion Factor to Estimate GHG Emissions Associated with Fire in Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus spp. Plantations in Chile." Forests 14, no. 2 (February 16, 2023): 403. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f14020403.
Full textAbstract:
Forest plantations can substantially contribute to carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation at the country and global scales. Forest fires (especially when combined with droughts) may remarkably reduce such carbon sequestration capability. The IPCC has global-scale estimates for such losses, but they can vary widely depending on crops, climate, topography, and management, among other factors. The IPCC defines a factor for biomass loss as a consequence of forest fires, expressed as a fraction of total biomass. This methodology implies using aggregated data and the default emission factor, which are only recommended for countries where wildfires are not a key category. In Chile, over the last decade, there have been between 5000 and 8000 wildfires annually (an average of 6398 for the period 2011–2020), burning an average of 122,328 hectares each year. Countries may progress in the refinement of such factors depending on the availability and reliability of local values. This paper aims at estimating Cf values for the main forest plantation species in Chile, Pinus radiata, Eucalyptus nitens, and Eucalyptus globulus, across different age-classes and forest fire severity. To achieve this aim, we assessed the biomass loss after forest fires for a stratified sample of forest plots for the season 2018–2019. We fitted a model to predict the amount of biomass loss during fires, and in this way, predict the emissions associated with wildfires. The model employs very simple predictive variables, age and species, because statistics for burnt areas in plantations are only provided by age-classes and species, without details about productivity or management.
33
Shaik, Riyaaz Uddien, Giovanni Laneve, and Lorenzo Fusilli. "An Automatic Procedure for Forest Fire Fuel Mapping Using Hyperspectral (PRISMA) Imagery: A Semi-Supervised Classification Approach." Remote Sensing 14, no. 5 (March 4, 2022): 1264. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs14051264.
Full textAbstract:
Natural vegetation provides various benefits to human society, but also acts as fuel for wildfires. Therefore, mapping fuel types is necessary to prevent wildfires, and hyperspectral imagery has applications in multiple fields, including the mapping of wildfire fuel types. This paper presents an automatic semisupervised machine learning approach for discriminating between wildfire fuel types and a procedure for fuel mapping using hyperspectral imagery (HSI) from PRISMA, a recently launched satellite of the Italian Space Agency. The approach includes sample generation and pseudolabelling using a single spectral signature as input data for each class, unmixing mixed pixels by a fully constrained linear mixing model, and differentiating sparse and mountainous vegetation from typical vegetation using biomass and DEM maps, respectively. Then the procedure of conversion from a classified map to a fuel map according to the JRC Anderson Codes is presented. PRISMA images of the southern part of Sardinia, an island off Italy, were considered to implement this procedure. As a result, the classified map obtained an overall accuracy of 87% upon validation. Furthermore, the stability of the proposed approach was tested by repeating the procedure on another HSI acquired for part of Bulgaria and we obtained an overall stability of around 84%. In terms of repeatability and reproducibility analysis, a degree of confidence greater than 95% was obtained. This study suggests that PRISMA imagery has good potential for wildfire fuel mapping, and the proposed semisupervised learning approach can generate samples for training the machine learning model when there is no single go-to dataset available, whereas this procedure can be implemented to develop a wildfire fuel map for any part of Europe using LUCAS land cover points as input.
34
Cinoğlu, Damla, Howard E. Epstein, Alan J. Tepley, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Jonathan R. Thompson, and Steven S. Perakis. "Climatic Aridity Shapes Post-Fire Interactions between Ceanothus spp. and Douglas-Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) across the Klamath Mountains." Forests 12, no. 11 (November 13, 2021): 1567. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f12111567.
Full textAbstract:
Climate change is leading to increased drought intensity and fire frequency, creating early-successional landscapes with novel disturbance–recovery dynamics. In the Klamath Mountains of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon, early-successional interactions between nitrogen (N)-fixing shrubs (Ceanothus spp.) and long-lived conifers (Douglas-fir) are especially important determinants of forest development. We sampled post-fire vegetation and soil biogeochemistry in 57 plots along gradients of time since fire (7–28 years) and climatic water deficit (aridity). We found that Ceanothus biomass increased, and Douglas-fir biomass decreased with increasing aridity. High aridity and Ceanothus biomass interacted with lower soil C:N more than either factor alone. Ceanothus biomass was initially high after fire and declined with time, suggesting a large initial pulse of N-fixation that could enhance N availability for establishing Douglas-fir. We conclude that future increases in aridity and wildfire frequency will likely limit post-fire Douglas-fir establishment, though Ceanothus may ameliorate some of these impacts through benefits to microclimate and soils. Results from this study contribute to our understanding of the effects of climate change and wildfires on interspecific interactions and forest dynamics. Management seeking to accelerate forest recovery after high-severity fire should emphasize early-successional conifer establishment while maintaining N-fixing shrubs to enhance soil fertility.
35
Santana, V. M., J. G. Alday, H. Lee, K. A. Allen, and R. H. Marrs. "Prescribed-burning vs. wildfire: management implications for annual carbon emissions along a latitudinal gradient of <i>Calluna vulgaris</i>-dominated vegetation." Biogeosciences Discussions 12, no. 21 (November 9, 2015): 17817–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bgd-12-17817-2015.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. A~present challenge in fire ecology is to optimize management techniques so that ecological services are maximized and C emissions minimized. Here, we model the effects of different prescribed-burning rotation intervals and wildfires on carbon emissions (present and future) in British moorlands. Biomass-accumulation curves from four Calluna-dominated ecosystems along a north–south, climatic gradient in Great Britain were calculated and used within a matrix-model based on Markov Chains to calculate above-ground biomass-loads, and annual C losses under different prescribed-burning rotation intervals. Additionally, we assessed the interaction of these parameters with an increasing wildfire return interval. We observed that litter accumulation patterns varied along the latitudinal gradient, with differences between northern (colder and wetter) and southern sites (hotter and drier). The accumulation patterns of the living vegetation dominated by Calluna were determined by site-specific conditions. The optimal prescribed-burning rotation interval for minimizing annual carbon losses also differed between sites: the rotation interval for northern sites was between 30 and 50 years, whereas for southern sites a hump-backed relationship was found with the optimal interval either between 8 to 10 years or between 30 to 50 years. Increasing wildfire frequency interacted with prescribed-burning rotation intervals by both increasing C emissions and modifying the optimum prescribed-burning interval for C minimum emission. This highlights the importance of studying site-specific biomass accumulation patterns with respect to environmental conditions for identifying suitable fire-rotation intervals to minimize C losses.
36
Huang, Jingting, S. Marcela Loría-Salazar, Min Deng, Jaehwa Lee, and Heather A. Holmes. "Assessment of smoke plume height products derived from multisource satellite observations using lidar-derived height metrics for wildfires in the western US." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 24, no. 6 (March 25, 2024): 3673–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3673-2024.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. As wildfires intensify and fire seasons lengthen across the western US, the development of models that can predict smoke plume concentrations and track wildfire-induced air pollution exposures has become critical. Wildfire smoke plume height is a key indicator of the vertical placement of plume mass emitted from wildfire-related aerosol sources in climate and air quality models. With advancements in Earth observation (EO) satellites, spaceborne products for aerosol layer height or plume injection height have recently emerged with increased global-scale spatiotemporal resolution. However, to evaluate column radiative effects and refine satellite algorithms, vertical profiles of regionally representative aerosol properties from wildfires need to be measured directly. In this study, we conducted the first comprehensive evaluation of four passive satellite remote-sensing techniques specifically designed for retrieving plume height. We compared these satellite products with the airborne Wyoming Cloud Lidar (WCL) measurements during the 2018 Biomass Burning Flux Measurements of Trace Gases and Aerosols (BB-FLUX) field campaign in the western US. Two definitions, namely, “plume top” and “extinction-weighted mean plume height”, were used to derive the representative heights of wildfire smoke plumes, based on the WCL-derived vertical aerosol extinction coefficient profiles. Using these two definitions, we performed a comparative analysis of multisource satellite-derived plume height products for wildfire smoke. We provide a discussion related to which satellite product is most appropriate for determining plume height characteristics near a fire event or estimating downwind plume rise equivalent height, under multiple aerosol loadings. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding the sensitivity of different passive remote-sensing techniques on space-based wildfire smoke plume height observations, in order to resolve ambiguity surrounding the concept of “effective smoke plume height”. As additional aerosol-observing satellites are planned in the coming years, our results will inform future remote-sensing missions and EO satellite algorithm development. This bridges the gap between satellite observations and plume rise modeling to further investigate the vertical distribution of wildfire smoke aerosols.
37
Urbanski, Shawn P., Matt C. Reeves, Rachel E. Corley, Robin P. Silverstein, and Wei Min Hao. "Contiguous United States wildland fire emission estimates during 2003–2015." Earth System Science Data 10, no. 4 (December 10, 2018): 2241–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-2241-2018.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Wildfires are a major source of air pollutants in the United States. Wildfire smoke can trigger severe pollution episodes with substantial impacts on public health. In addition to acute episodes, wildfires can have a marginal effect on air quality at significant distances from the source, presenting significant challenges to air regulators' efforts to meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Improved emission estimates are needed to quantify the contribution of wildfires to air pollution and thereby inform decision-making activities related to the control and regulation of anthropogenic air pollution sources. To address the need of air regulators and land managers for improved wildfire emission estimates, we developed the Missoula Fire Lab Emission Inventory (MFLEI), a retrospective, daily wildfire emission inventory for the contiguous United States (CONUS). MFLEI was produced using multiple datasets of fire activity and burned area, a newly developed wildland fuels map and an updated emission factor database. Daily burned area is based on a combination of Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) data, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) burned area and active fire detection products, incident fire perimeters, and a spatial wildfire occurrence database. The fuel type classification map is a merger of a national forest type map, produced by the USDA Forest Service (USFS) Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program and the Geospatial Technology and Applications Center (GTAC), with a shrub and grassland vegetation map developed by the USFS Missoula Forestry Sciences Laboratory. Forest fuel loading is from a fuel classification developed from a large set (> 26 000 sites) of FIA surface fuel measurements. Herbaceous fuel loading is estimated using site-specific parameters with the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index from MODIS. Shrub fuel loading is quantified by applying numerous allometric equations linking stand structure and composition to biomass and fuels, with the structure and composition data derived from geospatial data layers of the LANDFIRE project. MFLEI provides estimates of CONUS daily wildfire burned area, fuel consumption, and pollutant emissions at a 250 m × 250 m resolution for 2003–2015. A spatially aggregated emission product (10 km × 10 km, 1 day) with uncertainty estimates is included to provide a representation of emission uncertainties at a spatial scale pertinent to air quality modeling. MFLEI will be updated, with recent years, as the MTBS burned area product becomes available. The data associated with this article can be found at https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2017-0039 (Urbanski et al., 2017).
38
Duc, Hiep Nguyen, Merched Azzi, Yang Zhang, John Kirkwood, Stephen White, Toan Trieu, Matthew Riley, et al. "Black Carbon Emissions, Transport and Effect on Radiation Forcing Modelling during the Summer 2019–2020 Wildfires in Southeast Australia." Atmosphere 14, no. 4 (April 10, 2023): 699. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040699.
Full textAbstract:
The emission of black carbon (BC) particles, which cause atmospheric warming by affecting radiation budget in the atmosphere, is the result of an incomplete combustion process of organic materials. The recent wildfire event during the summer 2019–2020 in south-eastern Australia was unprecedented in scale. The wildfires lasted for nearly 3 months over large areas of the two most populated states of New South Wales and Victoria. This study on the emission and dispersion of BC emitted from the biomass burnings of the wildfires using the Weather Research Forecast–Chemistry (WRF–Chem) model aims to determine the extent of BC spatial dispersion and ground concentration distribution and the effect of BC on air quality and radiative transfer at the top of the atmosphere, the atmosphere and on the ground. The predicted aerosol concentration and AOD are compared with the observed data using the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) aethalometer and air quality network and remote sensing data. The BC concentration as predicted from the WRF–Chem model, is in general, less than the observed data as measured using the aethalometer monitoring network, but the spatial pattern corresponds well, and the correlation is relatively high. The total BC emission into the atmosphere during the event and the effect on radiation budget were also estimated. This study shows that the summer 2019–2020 wildfires affect not only the air quality and health impact on the east coast of Australia but also short-term weather in the region via aerosol interactions with radiation and clouds.
39
Memoli, Valeria, Speranza Claudia Panico, Lucia Santorufo, Rossella Barile, Gabriella Di Natale, Aldo Di Nunzio, Maria Toscanesi, Marco Trifuoggi, Anna De Marco, and Giulia Maisto. "Do Wildfires Cause Changes in Soil Quality in the Short Term?" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 15 (July 24, 2020): 5343. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17155343.
Full textAbstract:
Wildfires have high frequency and intensity in the Mediterranean ecosystems that deeply modify the soil abiotic (i.e., pH, contents of water, organic matter and elements) and biotic properties (i.e., biomass and activity). In 2017, an intense wildfire occurred inside the Vesuvius National Park (Southern Italy), destroying approximately 50% of the existing plant cover. So, the research aimed to evaluate the fire effects on soil quality through single soil abiotic and biotic indicators and through an integrated index (SQI). To achieve the aim, soil samples were collected inside the Vesuvius National Park at 12 sampling field points before fire (BF) and after fire (AF). The findings highlighted that in AF soil, the contents of water and total carbon, element availability, respiration and the dehydrogenase activity were lower than in BF soil; in contrast, pH and hydrolase activity were significantly higher in AF soil. The microbial biomass and activity were affected by Al, Cr and Cu availability in both BF and AF soils. Despite the variations in each investigated soil abiotic and biotic property that occurred in AF soil, the overall soil quality did not significantly differ as compared to that calculated for the BF soil. The findings provide a contribution to the baseline definition of the properties and quality of burnt soil and highlight the short-term effects of fire on volcanic soil in the Mediterranean area.
40
Marlon, Jennifer R., Ryan Kelly, Anne-Laure Daniau, Boris Vannière, Mitchell J. Power, Patrick Bartlein, Philip Higuera, et al. "Reconstructions of biomass burning from sediment-charcoal records to improve data–model comparisons." Biogeosciences 13, no. 11 (June 3, 2016): 3225–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-3225-2016.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. The location, timing, spatial extent, and frequency of wildfires are changing rapidly in many parts of the world, producing substantial impacts on ecosystems, people, and potentially climate. Paleofire records based on charcoal accumulation in sediments enable modern changes in biomass burning to be considered in their long-term context. Paleofire records also provide insights into the causes and impacts of past wildfires and emissions when analyzed in conjunction with other paleoenvironmental data and with fire models. Here we present new 1000-year and 22 000-year trends and gridded biomass burning reconstructions based on the Global Charcoal Database version 3 (GCDv3), which includes 736 charcoal records (57 more than in version 2). The new gridded reconstructions reveal the spatial patterns underlying the temporal trends in the data, allowing insights into likely controls on biomass burning at regional to global scales. In the most recent few decades, biomass burning has sharply increased in both hemispheres but especially in the north, where charcoal fluxes are now higher than at any other time during the past 22 000 years. We also discuss methodological issues relevant to data–model comparisons and identify areas for future research. Spatially gridded versions of the global data set from GCDv3 are provided to facilitate comparison with and validation of global fire simulations.
41
Marlon, J. R., R. Kelly, A. L. Daniau, B. Vannière, M. J. Power, P. Bartlein, P. Higuera, et al. "Reconstructions of biomass burning from sediment charcoal records to improve data-model comparisons." Biogeosciences Discussions 12, no. 22 (November 18, 2015): 18571–623. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bgd-12-18571-2015.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. The location, timing, spatial extent, and frequency of wildfires are changing rapidly in many parts of the world, producing substantial impacts on ecosystems, people, and potentially climate. Paleofire records based on charcoal accumulation in sediments enable modern changes in biomass burning to be considered in their long-term context. Paleofire records also provide insights into the causes and impacts of past wildfires and emissions when analyzed in conjunction with other paleoenvironmental data and with fire models. Here we present new 1000 year and 22 000 year trends and gridded biomass burning reconstructions based on the Global Charcoal Database version 3, which includes 736 charcoal records (57 more than in version 2). The new gridded reconstructions reveal the spatial patterns underlying the temporal trends in the data, allowing insights into likely controls on biomass burning at regional to global scales. In the most recent few decades, biomass burning has sharply increased in both hemispheres, but especially in the north, where charcoal fluxes are now higher than at any other time during the past 22 000 {years}. We also discuss methodological issues relevant to data-model comparisons, and identify areas for future research. Spatially gridded versions of the global dataset from GCDv3 are provided to facilitate comparison with and validation of global fire simulations.
42
Sedlacek III, Arthur J., Peter R. Buseck, Kouji Adachi, Timothy B. Onasch, Stephen R. Springston, and Lawrence Kleinman. "Formation and evolution of tar balls from northwestern US wildfires." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 18, no. 15 (August 13, 2018): 11289–301. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11289-2018.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Biomass burning is a major source of light-absorbing black and brown carbonaceous particles. Tar balls (TBs) are a type of brown carbonaceous particle apparently unique to biomass burning. Here we describe the first atmospheric observations of the formation and evolution of TBs from forest fires. Aerosol particles were collected on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids during aircraft transects at various downwind distances from the Colockum Tarps wildland fire. TB mass fractions, derived from TEM and in situ measurements, increased from <1 % near the fire to 31–45 % downwind, with little change in TB diameter. Given the observed evolution of TBs, it is recommended that these particles be labeled as processed primary particles, thereby distinguishing TB formation–evolution from secondary organic aerosols. Single-scattering albedo determined from scattering and absorption measurements increased slightly with downwind distance. Similar TEM and single-scattering albedo results were observed sampling multiple wildfires. Mie calculations are consistent with weak light absorbance by TBs (i.e., m similar to the literature values 1.56−0.02i or 1.80−0.007i) but not consistent with absorption 1 order of magnitude stronger observed in different settings. The field-derived TB mass fractions reported here indicate that this particle type should be accounted for in biomass burning emission inventories.
43
Tomshin, Oleg, and Vladimir Solovyev. "Features of the Extreme Fire Season of 2021 in Yakutia (Eastern Siberia) and Heavy Air Pollution Caused by Biomass Burning." Remote Sensing 14, no. 19 (October 7, 2022): 4980. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs14194980.
Full textAbstract:
Yakutia (Eastern Siberia) is one of the most fire-prone regions of Russia, which is frequently affected by large-scale wildfires despite a relatively short warm period, which usually lasts from May to September. In 2021, Yakutia experienced the worst fire season over the last four decades. In this study, we investigate features of the extreme fire season, factors that promote extreme fire weather, and heavy air pollution caused by biomass burning in the region utilizing multiple satellite and ground-based observations along with reanalysis data and forward-trajectory modelling. The results demonstrate that the total number of hotspots (HS) in 2021 amounted to ~150,000, which is almost twice as much as the previous record year (2020). One of the main features of the 2021 fire season was the period of extensive growth of the number of HS, which occurred from 24 July to 12 August. High fire danger during the fire season was promoted by positive anomalies in monthly air temperature (August) and negative anomalies in monthly precipitation (May–July). August of 2021 in central Yakutia was the second most hot August (14.9 °C) during a 43-year NCEP-DOE Reanalysis record (1979–2021). In addition, the intensification of wildfires during August 2021 was associated with persistent high-pressure systems, which promoted dry weather conditions in the region by blocking the transport of moist air masses from the western part of Russia. The low wind speeds, observed in the center of a high-pressure system, led to the accumulation of wildfire emissions in the atmosphere, which significantly affect air quality in the region. The monthly mean aerosol optical depth values in July 2021 were 0.82 (MODIS MAIAC) and 1.37 (AERONET) which were 14.9 and 18.7 times higher than respective values of 2007 (the year with minimal wildfires in the Asian part of Russia and Yakutia). Based on aerosol index observations and forward trajectories, we demonstrate that smoke plumes originated from the study area were transported over long distances reaching the Ural Mountains in the west, Mongolia in the south, the North Pole in the north, and Alaska in the east, traveling the distances of ~2000–7000 km. Maximum spatial extent of the smoke plumes reached ~10–12 mln. km2.
44
Charvet, Felix, Felipe Silva, Luís Ruivo, Luís Tarelho, Arlindo Matos, José Figueiredo da Silva, and Daniel Neves. "Pyrolysis Characteristics of Undervalued Wood Varieties in the Portuguese Charcoal Sector." Energies 14, no. 9 (April 28, 2021): 2537. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en14092537.
Full textAbstract:
Charcoal production in Portugal is mostly based on the valorization of woody residues from cork oak and holm oak, the latter being considered a reference feedstock in the market. Nevertheless, since wildfire prevention became a priority in Portugal, after the recent dramatic wildfires, urgent actions are being conducted to reduce the fuel load in the forests, which is increasing the amount of biomass that is available for valorization. Additionally, biomass residues from agriculture, forest management, control of invasive species, partially burnt wood from post-fire recovery actions, and waste wood from storm devastated forests need also to be considered within the national biomass valorization policies. This has motivated the present work on whether the carbonization process can be used to valorize alternative woody biomasses not currently used on a large scale. For this purpose, slow pyrolysis experiments were carried out with ten types of wood, using a fixed bed reactor allowing the controlled heating of large fuel particles at 0.1 to 5 °C/min and final temperatures within 300–450 °C. Apart from an evaluation of the mass balance of the process, emphasis was given to the properties of the resulting charcoals considering its major market in Portugal—barbecue charcoal for both recreational and professional purposes.
45
Planas, Dolors, Mélanie Desrosiers, S.-Raphaëlle Groulx, Serge Paquet, and Richard Carignan. "Pelagic and benthic algal responses in eastern Canadian Boreal Shield lakes following harvesting and wildfires." Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57, S2 (September 7, 2000): 136–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f00-130.
Full textAbstract:
Pelagic and benthic algal biomass and pelagic algal community structure were measured in Boreal Shield lakes impacted by forest harvesting and wildfires (Haute-Mauricie, Québec). Sixteen reference lakes in which the watershed has been unperturbed for at least 40 years, seven harvested lake watersheds (logged in 1995), and nine lake watersheds burnt in 1995 were sampled for 3 years following harvesting or wildfires. From 1996 to 1998, repeated-measures ANOVA showed significant effects between treatment and sampling years for pelagic chlorophyll a (Chl a) and biomass, but for 1997-1998 benthic Chl a, repeated-measures ANOVA showed only significant treatment effects. Chl a concentrations increased 1.4- to 3-fold in perturbed lakes as compared with reference lakes. Areal pelagic Chl a (milligrams per square metre) was lower than estimated littoral Chl a in perturbed lakes. The pelagic algal community was dominated by mixotrophic nanoflagellates in reference lakes. Watershed perturbation induced differential changes in pelagic algal communities: mixotrophic nanoflagellates increased in harvested lakes and photoautotrophic diatoms in burnt lakes. Considering only perturbed lakes, algal biomass was proportional to the fraction of the catchment area perturbed divided by the surface area of lakes in the catchment.
46
Potash, Laura L., and James K. Agee. "The effect of fire on red heather (Phyllodoce empetriformis)." Canadian Journal of Botany 76, no. 3 (March 1, 1998): 428–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/b98-005.
Full textAbstract:
Red heather (Phyllodoce empetriformis (Sw.) D. Don) recovery after experimental fires and wildfires was studied at five subalpine sites in Washington State, U.S.A. Experimental burn treatments showed that fire had a neutral to positive effect on stem numbers but generally a short-term negative effect on aboveground biomass production. Although there were no differences in effects between experimental burn and clip treatments, long-duration smoldering beyond that documented in our experiments may have more damaging effects. On three wildfire sites, sprouting was vigorous after fire except at one site adjacent to forest cover where significant litter consumption occurred. The duration of fire, rather than its presence or absence, may be an important character of the fire regime in predicting post-fire response of red heather.Key words: red heather, Phyllodoce empetriformis, fire, subalpine meadows, Pacific Northwest.
47
Budisulistiorini, Sri Hapsari, Matthieu Riva, Michael Williams, Takuma Miyakawa, Jing Chen, Masayuki Itoh, Jason D. Surratt, and Mikinori Kuwata. "Dominant contribution of oxygenated organic aerosol to haze particles from real-time observation in Singapore during an Indonesian wildfire event in 2015." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 18, no. 22 (November 21, 2018): 16481–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-16481-2018.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Recurring transboundary haze from Indonesian wildfires in previous decades significantly elevated particulate matter (PM) concentrations in Southeast Asia. During that event on 10 to 31 October 2015, we conducted a real-time observation of non-refractory submicron PM (NR-PM1) in Singapore using an Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer. Simultaneously, we characterized carbonaceous components and organic aerosol (OA) tracers from fine PM (PM2.5) samples to support source apportionment of the online measurements. The real-time analysis demonstrated that OA accounted for approximately 80 % of NR-PM1 mass during the wildfire haze period. Source apportionment analysis applied to the OA mass spectra using the multilinear-engine (ME-2) approach resulted in four factors: hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), biomass burning OA (BBOA), peat burning OA (PBOA), and oxygenated OA (OOA). The OOA can be considered as a surrogate of both secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and oxidized primary organic aerosol (OPOA), while the other factors are considered as surrogates of primary organic aerosol (POA). The OOA accounted for approximately 50 % of the total OA mass in NR-PM1, while POA subtypes from wildfires (BBOA and PBOA) contributed to approximately 30 % of the total OA mass. Our findings highlight the importance of atmospheric chemical processes, which likely include POA oxidation and SOA formation from oxidation of gaseous precursors, to the OOA concentration. As this research could not separately quantify the POA oxidation and SOA formation processes, further studies should attempt to investigate the contribution of gaseous precursor oxidation and POA aging to the OOA formation in wildfire plumes.
48
Gunsch, Matthew J., Nathaniel W. May, Miao Wen, Courtney L. H. Bottenus, Daniel J. Gardner, Timothy M. VanReken, Steven B. Bertman, Philip K. Hopke, Andrew P. Ault, and Kerri A. Pratt. "Ubiquitous influence of wildfire emissions and secondary organic aerosol on summertime atmospheric aerosol in the forested Great Lakes region." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 18, no. 5 (March 13, 2018): 3701–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3701-2018.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Long-range aerosol transport affects locations hundreds of kilometers from the point of emission, leading to distant particle sources influencing rural environments that have few major local sources. Source apportionment was conducted using real-time aerosol chemistry measurements made in July 2014 at the forested University of Michigan Biological Station near Pellston, Michigan, a site representative of the remote forested Great Lakes region. Size-resolved chemical composition of individual 0.5–2.0 µm particles was measured using an aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS), and non-refractory aerosol mass less than 1 µm (PM1) was measured with a high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-AMS). The field site was influenced by air masses transporting Canadian wildfire emissions and urban pollution from Milwaukee and Chicago. During wildfire-influenced periods, 0.5–2.0 µm particles were primarily aged biomass burning particles (88 % by number). These particles were heavily coated with secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed during transport, with organics (average O∕C ratio of 0.8) contributing 89 % of the PM1 mass. During urban-influenced periods, organic carbon, elemental carbon–organic carbon, and aged biomass burning particles were identified, with inorganic secondary species (ammonium, sulfate, and nitrate) contributing 41 % of the PM1 mass, indicative of atmospheric processing. With current models underpredicting organic carbon in this region and biomass burning being the largest combustion contributor to SOA by mass, these results highlight the importance for regional chemical transport models to accurately predict the impact of long-range transported particles on air quality in the upper Midwest, United States, particularly considering increasing intensity and frequency of Canadian wildfires.
49
Rogers, Haley M., Jenna C. Ditto, and Drew R. Gentner. "Evidence for impacts on surface-level air quality in the northeastern US from long-distance transport of smoke from North American fires during the Long Island Sound Tropospheric Ozone Study (LISTOS) 2018." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 20, no. 2 (January 21, 2020): 671–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-671-2020.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract. Biomass burning is a large source of uncontrolled air pollutants, including particulate matter (i.e., PM2.5), black carbon (BC), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and carbon monoxide (CO), which have significant effects on air quality, human health, and climate. Measurements of PM2.5, BC, and CO made at the Yale Coastal Field Station in Guilford, CT, and five other sites in the metropolitan New York City (NYC) area indicate long-distance transport of pollutants from wildfires and other biomass burning to surface-level sites in the region. Here, we examine two such events occurring on 16–17 and 27–29 August 2018. In addition to regionally consistent enhancements in the surface concentrations of gases and particulates associated with biomass burning, satellite imagery confirms the presence of smoke plumes in the NYC–Connecticut region during these events. Back-trajectory modeling indicates that air masses arriving at surface-level sites in coastal Connecticut on 16–17 August passed over the western coast of Canada, near multiple large wildfires. In contrast, air parcels arriving on 27–29 August passed over active fires in the southeastern United States. The results of this study demonstrate that biomass burning events throughout the US and Canada (at times more than 4000 km away), which are increasing in frequency, impact surface-level air quality beyond regional scales, including in NYC and the northeastern US.
50
Meyn, Andrea, Peter S. White, Constanze Buhk, and Anke Jentsch. "Environmental drivers of large, infrequent wildfires: the emerging conceptual model." Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment 31, no. 3 (June 2007): 287–312. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0309133307079365.
Full textAbstract:
Large, infrequent fires (LIFs) can have substantial impacts on both ecosystems and the economy. To better understand LIFs and to better predict the effects of human management and climate change on their occurrence, we must first determine the factors that produce them. Here, we review local and regional literature investigating the drivers of LIFs. The emerging conceptual model proposes that ecosystems can be typified based on climatic conditions that determine both fuel moisture and fuel amount. The concept distinguishes three ecosystem types: (1) biomass-rich, rarely dry ecosystems where fuel moisture rather than fuel amount limits LIFs; (2) biomass-poor, at least seasonally dry ecosystems where fuel amount rather than fuel moisture limits LIFs; and (3) biomass-poor, rarely dry ecosystems where both fuel amount and fuel moisture limit the occurrence of LIFs. Our main goal in this paper is to discuss the drivers of LIFs and the three mentioned ecosystem types in a global context. Further, we will discuss the drivers that are not included within the `fuels' versus `climate' discussion. Finally, we will address the question: what kinds of additional information are needed if models predicting LIFs are to be coupled with global climate models? As with all generalizations, there are local deviations and modifications due to processes such as disturbance interaction or human impact. These processes tend to obscure the general patterns of the occurrence of LIFs and are likely to cause much of the observed controversy and confusion in the literature.