Relative Importance of Fuels and Weather on Fire Behavior in Subalpine Forests

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Ecology

Publication Date

1995

Issue

3

Volume

76

First Page

747

Last Page

762

Abstract

Surface fire intensity (kilowatts per metre) and crown fire initiation were predicted using Rothermel's 1972 and Van Wagner's 1977 fire models with fuel data from 47 upland subalpine conifer stands (comprising Pinus contorta var. latifolia, Picea engelmannii, Abies lasiocarpa and some Populus tremuloides) in Alberta, Canada, varying in age from 22-258 yr and 35 yr of daily weather data (fuel moisture and wind speeds). Rothermel's intensity model was divided into a fuel component variable and weather component variable, which were then used to examine the relative roles of fuel and weather on surface fire intensity. Similar variables were defined in the crown fire initiation model of Van Wagner. Both surface fire intensity and crown fire initiation were strongly related to the weather components and weakly related to the fuel components, due to much greater variability in weather than fuel, and stronger relationship to the fire behaviour mechanisms for weather than for fuel. Fire intensity was correlated to annual area burned; large area burned years had higher fire intensity predictions than smaller area burned years. The reason for this difference was attributed directly to the weather variable frequency distribution, which was shifted towards more extreme values in years in which large areas burned. During extreme weather conditions, the relative importance of fuels diminishes since all stands achieve the threshold required to permit crown fire development. This is important since most of the area burned in subalpine forests has historically occurred during very extreme weather conditions (i.e., drought coupled to high winds). Fire behaviour relationships predicted in the models support the concept that forest fire behaviour is determined primarily by weather variation among years rather than fuel variation associated with stand age.

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