Experimental fire behaviour in managed Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies stands of Finland
Heidi Tanskanen A E , Anders Granström B , Markku Larjavaara C and Pasi Puttonen D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Forest Ecology, PO Box 27, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.
B Department of Forest Vegetation Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901-83 Umeå, Sweden.
C International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Regional Office for Asia, Pacific, and Oceania, PO Box 236, UPM Post Office, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
D The Finnish Forest Research Institute, General Services, Helsinki Unit, Unioninkatu 40 A, 00170 Helsinki, Finland.
E Corresponding author. Email: heidi.tanskanen@helsinki.fi, hjtanskanen@luukku.com
International Journal of Wildland Fire 16(4) 414-425 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF05087
Submitted: 23 September 2005 Accepted: 12 December 2006 Published: 20 August 2007
Abstract
Fire behaviour characteristics were studied in managed Pinus sylvestris L. and Picea abies L. Karst stands in a series of field burning experiments. Stand characteristics, surface fuel moisture content, mid-flame wind speed, rates of spread, flame heights, and torching were recorded. The Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System (FWI System) and Finnish Fire Risk Index (FFI) were used to evaluate burning conditions and analyse the observed fire behaviour. Mid-flame wind speed was a good predictor (R2 = 0.96 for exponential curve) of the fire spread rates. Torching formed the strongest correlation with the height of the dead branch limit. An increase in predicted fire weather hazard from FWI 4 to FWI 20 (FWI = the FWI code of the FWI System) increased burn coverage remarkably in 15–45-year-old Pinus stands and to a lesser extent in Pinus and Picea clear-cuts, but did not affect 40–60-year-old Picea stands. The FFI was unable to predict burn coverage or any other fire behaviour characteristics.
Additional keywords: correlation, fire weather, regression analyses, stand structure.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Ilkka Vanha-Majamaa (Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa Research Unit) for initiating the project and organising funding for it, Hanne Liukko, Pauli Pihlajamäki, Taneli Salonen and Timo Vesterinen for carrying out the field work, the local fire brigades of Lammi, Padasjoki, and Hämeenlinna, the landowners Finnish Forest Research Institute, Häme Polytechnic, and UPM-Kymmene Ltd, the personnel of the Finnish Forest Research Institute Vantaa Research Center, project secretary Timo Heikkilä (Rescue Service, Ministry of the Interior, Finland), and researcher Ari Venäläinen and Finnish Meteorological Institute for their valuable help. Thank you to Prof. Domingos Viegas and his team in Coimbra, Portugal for advice on the field experiments and one anonymous reviewer for comments on the manuscript. The present study has been made financially possible by the Fire Rescue Service Fund (Ministry of the Interior), Finnish Forest Research Institute, FIRE–project of the SUNARE Program (financed by the Academy of Finland, Tekes, and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry), and the Graduate School in Forest Sciences (Ministry of Education).
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