Fire behaviour in south-western Australian shrublands: Evaluating the influence of fuel age and fire weather

J.B. Fontaine; V.C. Westcott; N.J. Enright; J.C. Lade; B.P. Miller

doi:10.1071/WF11065

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Fire behaviour in south-western Australian shrublands: Evaluating the influence of fuel age and fire weather

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Fire behaviour in south-western Australian shrublands: Evaluating the influence of fuel age and fire weather

J.B. Fontaine, V.C. Westcott, N.J. Enright, J.C. Lade and B.P. Miller

International Journal of Wildland Fire, Vol.21(4), pp.385-395

2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/WF11065

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Abstract

Fuel age (time since last fire) is often used to approximate fire hazard and informs decisions on placement of shrubland management burns worldwide. However, uncertainty remains concerning the relative importance of fuel age and weather conditions as predictors of fire hazard and behaviour. Using data from 35 experimental burns across three types of shrublands in Western Australia, we evaluated importance of fuel age and fire weather on probability of fire propagation (hazard) and four metrics of fire behaviour (rate of spread, fireline intensity, residence time, surface temperature) under moderate to high fire danger weather conditions. We found significant support for a threshold effect of fuel age for fire propagation but limited evidence for an effect of fuel age or fire weather on rates of spread or fireline intensity, although surface heating and heating duration were significantly related to fuel age and shrubland type. Further analysis suggested that dead fuel mass and accumulation rate rather than live fuels were responsible for this relationship. Using BEHAVE, predicted spread rates and intensities were consistently lower than observed values, suggesting further refinement is needed in modelling shrubland fire behaviour. These data provide important insight into fire behaviour in globally significant, fire-adapted shrublands, informing fire management and relationships between fire frequency and fire intensity.

Details

Title: Fire behaviour in south-western Australian shrublands: Evaluating the influence of fuel age and fire weather
Authors/Creators: J.B. Fontaine (Author/Creator)
V.C. Westcott (Author/Creator) - The University of Melbourne
N.J. Enright (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
J.C. Lade (Author/Creator) - The University of Melbourne
B.P. Miller (Author/Creator) - Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority
Publication Details: International Journal of Wildland Fire, Vol.21(4), pp.385-395
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Identifiers: 991005540570407891
Copyright: © IAWF 2012
Murdoch Affiliation: School of Environmental Science
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Citation topics: 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology; 3.40 Forestry; 3.40.1598 Wildfire Dynamics
Web Of Science research areas: Forestry
ESI research areas: Plant & Animal Science