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10-1-08-6
2010
05/01/2010
12/12/2013
Linking Photosynthesis and Combustion Characteristics in Live Fuels: The Role of Soluble Carbohydrates in Fuel Preheating
Operational fire behavior models make several assumptions about the combustion characteristics of fuels that may apply to well to dead fuels but might be inappropriate for live fuels. Two of these assumptions are that pure water must be evaporated from the fuels and that all of the water contained in a fuel must be removed before combustion can occur. Plants that are photosynthetically active accumulate carbohydrates in the foliage and this can raise the temperature required to boil and thus evaporate water from the foliage. Furthermore, evidence exists to suggest that significant water remains in the foliage at the time of ignition. These two factors could have profound impacts on the pre-heating and ignition requirements of live fuels that would not be found in comparable dead fuels. Here we propose to simultaneously address these fundamental ignition characteristics of live fuels. This work would benefit a variety of modeling efforts aimed at quantify the factors controlling fire spread through a mixture of live and dead wildland fuels. If the impact of soluble compounds and moisture loss at can be quantified, new fire models can incorporate this information to correctly modify the heat sink terms for live fuels. Furthermore, if a link between photosynthetic activity and ignition behavior can be established, it would open the door to link two as of yet unconnected fields: plant ecophysiology and plant combustion.
William ’Matt’ M. Jolly
Forest Service
RMRS-Fire Sciences Lab-Missoula

Other Project Collaborators

Other Project Collaborators

Type

Name

Agency/Organization

Branch or Dept

Co-Principal Investigator

Bret W. Butler

Forest Service

RMRS-Fire Sciences Lab-Missoula

Federal Cooperator

William ’Matt’ M. Jolly

Forest Service

RMRS-Fire Sciences Lab-Missoula

Federal Fiscal Representative

Susan T. Major

Forest Service

RMRS-Rocky Mountain Research Station

Project Locations

Project Locations

Fire Science Exchange Network

Northern Rockies

Level

State

Agency

Unit

REGIONAL

Interior West

FS

Final Report

Project Deliverables

Title
 
Forest Ecology and ManagementView
Decoupling Seasonal Changes in Water Content and Dry Weight to Predict Live Foliar Moisture ContentView
Fire Safety JournalView
International Journal of Wildland FireView
Live Fuel Moisture: A New Look at the Combustion of Living PlantsView
Monitoring Seasonal Variation of Foliar Heat Content in Big SagebrushView

Supporting Documents