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A special issue of Fire (ISSN 2571-6255).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2020) | Viewed by 52214

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Dr. Jen Beverly

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sci - Renewable Resources Dept, University of Alberta, 713C General Services Building, 9007 - 116 St NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada
Interests: fire behaviour; fire risk assessment; landscape values-at-risk mapping; wildfire evacuations; fire-climate interactions

Dr. Mike Wotton

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Forestry, Rm 4013, University of Toronto, 33 Willcocks St., Toronto, ON M5S 3B3, Canada
Interests: fuel moisture; fire ignition and occurrence; fire behavior; fire danger; fire management

Dr. Steve Cumming

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Wood and Forest Sciences, Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec G1V 0A6, Canada
Interests: conservation biology; fire ecology; ecological modelling; forest ecology; boreal forest

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

High-intensity, fast spreading wildfires are a defining feature of Boreal forest ecosystems in Canada. Fire disturbances in these forests represent an important and natural ecological mechanism of forest change and renewal. A central question in the study of Boreal fire disturbance processes is the extent to which the behaviour of a forest fire is modulated by landscape- and stand-level fuel attributes. Existing models for predicting fire behaviour in Canadian forests classify fuels into broad stand types with representative, static stand structures that ignore variations known to be associated with site conditions, stand development stage and management actions, such as thinning. On a landscape scale, the type, size and arrangement of Boreal landcover parcels defines landscape heterogeneity that is known to influence fire behavior through a complex process of negative feedbacks.

The goal of this Special Issue is to increase the understanding of fire-fuel interactions in Boreal ecosystems in support of improved models and approaches for protecting people and values from negative fire impacts and promoting ecosystem health and resilience. We invite submission of articles on any topic related to fire-fuel interactions in Boreal forests, including but not limited to:

Wildfire and experimental fire case reports
Fire and insect or disease outbreaks
Fuel characterization and mapping
Fuel treatment and vegetation management
Fire behavior models and simulation
Landscape fire-fuel dynamics

Dr. Jen Beverly
Dr. Mike Wotton
Dr. Steve Cumming
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (13 papers)

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25 pages, 3736 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fire Behaviour Observation in Shrublands in Nova Scotia, Canada and Assessment of Aids to Operational Fire Behaviour Prediction

by Anne-Claude Pepin and Mike Wotton

Fire 2020, 3(3), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire3030034 - 26 Jul 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4378

Abstract

Parks Canada, in collaboration with Nova Scotia Lands and Forests and Natural Resources Canada, documented shrub fire behaviour in multiple plots burned over two periods: a spring period in June 2014 and a summer period in July 2017. The study area, located within Cape Breton Highlands National Park, comprised fifteen burn units (20 m by 20 m in size). Each unit was ignited by line ignition and burned under a wide range of conditions. Pre-burn fuel characteristics were measured across the site and used to estimate pre-fire fuel load and post-fire fuel consumption. This fuel complex was similar to many flammable shrub types around the world, results show that this shrub fuel type had high elevated fuel loads (3.17 ± 0.84 kg/m²) composed of exposed live and dead stunted black spruce as well as ericaceous shrubs, mainly Kalmia angustifolia (evergreen) and Rhodora canadensis (deciduous). Data show that the dead moisture content in this fuel complex is systematically lower than expected from the traditional relationship between FFMC and moisture content in the Canadian Fire Weather Index System but was statistically correlated with Equilibrium Moisture Content. A significant inverse relationship between bulk density and fire rate of spread was observed as well as a clear seasonal effect between the spring burns and the summer burns, which is likely attributable to the increase in bulk density in the summer. Unlike most shrub research, wind and dead moisture content did not have a statistically significant association with fire spread rates. However, we believe this to be due to noise in wind data and small dataset. Rate of spread as high as 14 m/min and flame lengths over 4 m were recorded under Initial Spread Index values of 6.4 and relative humidity of 54%. A comparison with a number of well-known shrubland spread rate prediction models was made. An aid to operational fire prediction behaviour is proposed, using a fuel type from the Canadian Fire Prediction System (O-1b) and a modified estimate of fuel moisture of the elevated fuel in the fuel complex. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boreal Fire-Fuels Interactions)

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16 pages, 3222 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study of Fuel-Smoke Dynamics in a Prescribed Fire of Boreal Black Spruce Forest through Field-Deployable Micro Sensor Systems

by Quamrul Huda, David Lyder, Marty Collins, Dave Schroeder, Dan K. Thompson, Ginny Marshall, Alberto J. Leon, Ken Hidalgo and Masum Hossain

Fire 2020, 3(3), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire3030030 - 12 Jul 2020

Viewed by 3378

Abstract

Understanding the combustion dynamics of fuels, and the generation and propagation of smoke in a wildland fire, can inform short-range and long-range pollutant transport models, and help address and mitigate air quality concerns in communities. Smoldering smoke can cause health issues in nearby valley bottoms, and can create hazardous road conditions due to low-visibility. We studied near-field smoke dynamics in a prescribed fire of 3.4 hectares of land in a boreal black spruce forest in central Alberta. Smoke generated from the fire was monitored through a network of five field-deployable micro sensor systems. Sensors were placed within 500–1000 m of the fire area at various angles in downwind. Smoke generated from flaming and smoldering combustions showed distinct characteristics. The propagation rates of flaming and smoldering smoke, based on the fine particulate (PM_2.5) component, were 0.8 and 0.2 m/s, respectively. The flaming smoke was characterized by sharp rise of PM_2.5 in air with concentrations of up to 940 µg/m³, followed by an exponential decay with a half-life of ~10 min. Smoldering combustion related smoke contributed to PM_2.5 concentrations above 1000 µg/m³ with slower decay half-life of ~18 min. PM_2.5 emissions from the burn area during flaming and smoldering phases, integrated over the combustion duration of 2.5 h, were ~15 and ~16 kilograms, respectively, as estimated by our mass balance model. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boreal Fire-Fuels Interactions)

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18 pages, 4589 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Recent Crown Thinning in a Boreal Black Spruce Forest Does Not Reduce Spread Rate nor Total Fuel Consumption: Results from an Experimental Crown Fire in Alberta, Canada

by Dan K. Thompson, Dave Schroeder, Sophie L. Wilkinson, Quinn Barber, Greg Baxter, Hilary Cameron, Rex Hsieh, Ginny Marshall, Brett Moore, Razim Refai, Chris Rodell, Tom Schiks, Gregory J. Verkaik and Jessica Zerb

Fire 2020, 3(3), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire3030028 - 9 Jul 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4734

Abstract

A 3.6 ha experimental fire was conducted in a black spruce peatland forest that had undergone thinning the year prior. After 50 m of spread in a natural stand at 35–60 m min⁻¹, the crown fire (43,000 kW m⁻¹ intensity using Byram’s method) encountered the 50% stem removal treatment; spread rates in the treatment were 50–60 m min⁻¹. Fuel consumption in the control (2.75 kg m⁻²) was comparable to the treatment (2.35 kg m⁻²). Proxy measurements of fire intensity using in-stand heat flux sensors as well as photogrammetric flame heights had detected intensity reductions to 30–40% of the control. Crown fuel load reductions (compensated by higher surface fuel load) appear to be the most significant contributor to the decline in intensity, despite drier surface fuels in the treatment. The burn depth of 5 cm in moss and organic soil did not differ between control and treatment. These observations point to the limited effectiveness (likely reductions in crown fire intensity but not spread rate) of stem removal in boreal black spruce fuel types with high stem density, low crown base height and high surface fuel load. The observed fire behaviour impacts differ from drier conifer forests across North America. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boreal Fire-Fuels Interactions)

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12 pages, 1208 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating the Drought Code Using In Situ Drying Timelags of Feathermoss Duff in Interior Alaska

by Eric A. Miller and Brenda Wilmore

Fire 2020, 3(2), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire3020025 - 25 Jun 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3655

Abstract

The Drought Code (DC) is a moisture code of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System underlain by a hydrological water balance model in which drying occurs in a negative exponential pattern with a relatively long timelag. The model derives from measurements from an evaporimeter and no soil parameters are specified, leaving its physical nature uncertain. One way to approximate the attributes of a “DC equivalent soil” is to compare its drying timelag with measurements of known soils. In situ measurements of timelag were made over the course of a fire season in a black spruce-feathermoss forest floor underlain by permafrost in Interior Alaska, USA. On a seasonally averaged basis, timelag was 28 d. The corresponding timelag of the DC water balance model was 60 d. Water storage capacity in a whole duff column 200 mm deep was 31 mm. Using these figures and a relationship between timelag, water storage capacity, and the potential evaporation rate, a “DC equivalent soil” was determined to be capable of storing 66 mm of water. This amount of water would require a soil 366 mm deep, suggesting a revision of the way fire managers in Alaska regard the correspondence between soil and the moisture codes of the FWI. Nearly half of the soil depth would be mineral rather than organic. Much of the soil water necessary to maintain a 60 d timelag characteristic of a “DC equivalent soil” is frozen until after the solstice. Unavailability of frozen water, coupled with a June peak in the potential evaporation rate, appears to shorten in situ timelags early in the season. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boreal Fire-Fuels Interactions)

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16 pages, 5049 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preceding Fall Drought Conditions and Overwinter Precipitation Effects on Spring Wildland Fire Activity in Canada

by Chelene Hanes, Mike Wotton, Douglas G. Woolford, David L. Martell and Mike Flannigan

Fire 2020, 3(2), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire3020024 - 23 Jun 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4548 | Correction

Abstract

Spring fire activity has increased in parts of Canada, particularly in the west, prompting fire managers to seek indicators of potential activity before the fire season starts. The overwintering adjustment of the Canadian Fire Weather Index System’s Drought Code (DC) is a method to adjust and carry-over the previous season’s drought conditions into the spring and potentially point to what lies ahead. The occurrence of spring fires is most strongly influenced by moisture in fine fuels. We used a zero-inflated Poisson regression model to examine the impact of the previous end of season Drought Code (DC_f) and overwinter precipitation (P_ow) while accounting for the day-to-day variation in fine fuel moisture that drives ignition potential. Impacts of DC_f and P_ow on area burned and fire suppression effectiveness were also explored using linear and logistic regression frameworks. Eight fire management regions across the boreal forests were analyzed using data from 1979 to 2018. For the majority of regions, drier fall conditions resulted in more human-caused spring fires, but not in greater area burned or reduced suppression effectiveness. The influence of P_ow was much more variable pointing to the conclusion that P_ow alone is not a good indicator of spring drought conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boreal Fire-Fuels Interactions)

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7 pages, 253 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Conceptual Interpretation of the Drought Code of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System

by Eric A. Miller

Fire 2020, 3(2), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire3020023 - 22 Jun 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4057

Abstract

The Drought Code (DC) was developed as part of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System in the early 1970s to represent a deep column of soil that dries relatively slowly. Unlike most other fire danger indices or codes that operate on gravimetric moisture content and use the logarithmic drying equation to represent diffusion, the DC is based on a model that balances daily precipitation and evaporation. This conceptually simple water balance model was ultimately implemented using a “shortcut” equation that facilitated ledgering by hand but also mixed the water balance model with the abstraction equation, obscuring the logic of the model and concealing two important variables. An alternative interpretation of the DC is presented that returns the algorithm to an equivalent but conceptual form that offers several advantages: The simplicity of the underlying water balance model is retained with fewer variables, constants, and equations. Two key variables, daily depth of water storage and actual evaporation, are exposed. The English system of units is eliminated and two terms associated with precipitation are no longer needed. The reduced model does not include or depend on any soil attributes, confirming that the nature of the “DC equivalent soil” cannot be precisely known. While the “Conceptual Algorithm” presented here makes it easier to interpret and understand the logic of the DC, users may continue to use the equivalent “Implemented Algorithm” operationally if they wish. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boreal Fire-Fuels Interactions)

14 pages, 1729 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seismic Lines in Treed Boreal Peatlands as Analogs for Wildfire Fuel Modification Treatments

by Patrick Jeffrey Deane, Sophie Louise Wilkinson, Paul Adrian Moore and James Michael Waddington

Fire 2020, 3(2), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire3020021 - 6 Jun 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3982

Abstract

Across the Boreal, there is an expansive wildland–society interface (WSI), where communities, infrastructure, and industry border natural ecosystems, exposing them to the impacts of natural disturbances, such as wildfire. Treed peatlands have previously received little attention with regard to wildfire management; however, their role in fire spread, and the contribution of peat smouldering to dangerous air pollution, have recently been highlighted. To help develop effective wildfire management techniques in treed peatlands, we use seismic line disturbance as an analog for peatland fuel modification treatments. To delineate below-ground hydrocarbon resources using seismic waves, seismic lines are created by removing above-ground (canopy) fuels using heavy machinery, forming linear disturbances through some treed peatlands. We found significant differences in moisture content and peat bulk density with depth between seismic line and undisturbed plots, where smouldering combustion potential was lower in seismic lines. Sphagnum mosses dominated seismic lines and canopy fuel load was reduced for up to 55 years compared to undisturbed peatlands. Sphagnum mosses had significantly lower smouldering potential than feather mosses (that dominate mature, undisturbed peatlands) in a laboratory drying experiment, suggesting that fuel modification treatments following a strategy based on seismic line analogs would be effective at reducing smouldering potential at the WSI, especially under increasing fire weather. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boreal Fire-Fuels Interactions)

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14 pages, 1666 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

The Impact of Fuel Treatments on Wildfire Behavior in North American Boreal Fuels: A Simulation Study Using FIRETEC

by Ginny Marshall, Dan K. Thompson, Kerry Anderson, Brian Simpson, Rodman Linn and Dave Schroeder

Fire 2020, 3(2), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire3020018 - 5 Jun 2020

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4348

Abstract

Current methods of predicting fire spread in Canadian forests are suited to large wildfires that spread through natural forests. Recently, the use of mechanical and thinning treatments of forests in the wildland-urban interface of Canada has increased. To assist in community wildfire protection planning in forests not covered by existing operational fire spread models, we use FIRETEC to simulate fire spread in lowland black spruce fuel structures, the most common tree stand in Canada. The simulated treatments included the mechanical mulching of strips, and larger, irregularly shaped areas. In all cases, the removal of fuel by mulch strips broke up the fuels, but also caused wind speed increases, so little decrease in fire spread rate was modelled. For large irregular clearings, the fire spread slowly through the mulched wood chips, and large decreases in fire spread and intensity were simulated. Furthermore, some treatments in the black spruce forest were found to be effective in decreasing the distance and/or density of firebrands. The simulations conducted can be used alongside experimental fires and documented wildfires to examine the effectiveness of differing fuel treatment options to alter multiple components of fire behavior. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boreal Fire-Fuels Interactions)

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20 pages, 5890 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assembling and Customizing Multiple Fire Weather Forecasts for Burn Probability and Other Fire Management Applications in Ontario, Canada

by Den Boychuk, Colin B. McFayden, Jordan Evens, Jerry Shields, Aaron Stacey, Douglas G. Woolford, Mike Wotton, Dan Johnston, Dan Leonard and Darren McLarty

Fire 2020, 3(2), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire3020016 - 29 May 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3991

Abstract

Weather forecasts are needed in fire management to support risk-based decision-making that considers both the probability of an outcome and its potential impact. These decisions are complicated by the large amount of uncertainty surrounding many aspects of the decision, such as weather forecasts. Wildland fires in Ontario, Canada can burn and actively spread for days, weeks, or even months, or be naturally limited or extinguished by rain. Conventional fire weather forecasts have typically been a single scenario for a period of one to five days. These forecasts have two limitations: they are not long enough to inform some fire management decisions, and they do not convey any uncertainty to inform risk-based decision-making. We present an overview of a method for the assembly and customization of forecasts that (1) combines short-, medium-, and long-term forecasts of different types, (2) calculates Fire Weather Indices and Fire Behaviour Predictions, including modelling seasonal weather station start-up and shutdown, (3) resolves differing spatial resolutions, and (4) communicates forecasts. It is used for burn probability modelling and other fire management applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boreal Fire-Fuels Interactions)

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23 pages, 2876 KiB

Open AccessReview

Stand-Level Fuel Reduction Treatments and Fire Behaviour in Canadian Boreal Conifer Forests

by Jennifer L. Beverly, Sonja E. R. Leverkus, Hilary Cameron and Dave Schroeder

Fire 2020, 3(3), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire3030035 - 27 Jul 2020

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 6955

Abstract

Stand-level fuel reduction treatments in the Canadian boreal zone are used predominantly in community protection settings to alter the natural structure of dominant boreal conifer stands such as black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia). The aim of these fuel treatments is to inhibit the development of fast-spreading, high-intensity crown fires that naturally occur in boreal forest ecosystems. We document fuel treatment design standards used in boreal forests in Canada and review data requirements and methodological approaches for investigating fuel treatment effects on fire behaviour. Through a series of illustrative examples and summaries of empirical observations, we explore the implications of data and modelling assumptions used to estimate fire behaviour in fuel-treated areas and identify insights about fuel treatment effectiveness in boreal conifer stands. Fuel treatments in black spruce, jack pine and lodgepole pine stands were generally effective at reducing modelled and observed fire behaviour and inhibiting crown fire development and spread under low to moderate fire weather conditions. Evidence suggests that fuel treatments in these fuel types will be ineffective when rates of spread and wind speeds are very high or extreme. High surface fuel loads combined with the relatively short stature of boreal conifer trees can further undermine fuel treatment efforts. Priority areas for future study include examining alternatives for managing surface fuel loads in treated stands, exploring the viability of alternative horizontal fuel reduction protocols such as clumped fuel configurations, and integrating suppression and containment strategies within the fuel treatment planning and design process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boreal Fire-Fuels Interactions)

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1 pages, 399 KiB

Open AccessCorrection

Correction: Hanes et al. Preceding Fall Drought Conditions and Overwinter Precipitation Effects on Spring Wildland Fire Activity in Canada. Fire 2020, 3, 24

by Chelene Hanes, Mike Wotton, Douglas G. Woolford, David L. Martell and Mike Flannigan

Fire 2022, 5(5), 125; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire5050125 - 24 Aug 2022

Viewed by 1200

Abstract

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boreal Fire-Fuels Interactions)

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9 pages, 3618 KiB

Open AccessLetter

Effects of Prescribed Burn on Nutrient and Dissolved Organic Matter Characteristics in Peatland Shallow Groundwater

by Julia Orlova, David Olefeldt, Jonathan H. Yasinski and Axel E. Anderson

Fire 2020, 3(3), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire3030053 - 16 Sep 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3405

Abstract

Wildfires are a common disturbance in boreal regions and have the potential to affect the waterborne export of organic matter and nutrients from burned catchments. To understand the effect of fire on shallow groundwater chemistry in a forested peatland in northern Alberta, Canada, shallow groundwater monitoring wells were sampled before and after a prescribed burn. The samples were collected from control and treatment wells between May and August 2019. The results indicate no differences in dissolved organic matter concentration and chemical composition between wells in burned and unburned sections but substantially increased nutrient concentrations were found in the burned section. Here, the levels of phosphorus increased and did not return to pre-fire levels at the end of the monitoring period, while the levels of inorganic nitrogen increased and returned to pre-fire levels within a few months. With increasing wildfire activity, or as a result of prescribed burns in the Boreal Plains, we may see implications for downstream water quality, including lake trophic status. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boreal Fire-Fuels Interactions)

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11 pages, 7449 KiB

Open AccessCase Report

Using Infrared Imagery to Assess Fire Behaviour in a Mulched Fuel Bed in Black Spruce Forests

by Brett Moore, Dan K. Thompson, Dave Schroeder, Joshua M. Johnston and Steven Hvenegaard

Fire 2020, 3(3), 37; https://doi.org/10.3390/fire3030037 - 31 Jul 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2728

Abstract

An experimental fire was conducted in one-year-old mulched (masticated) boreal fuels, where all aboveground biomass was mulched with no stems removed or left standing. Typical mulching practices remove remnant biomass; leaving biomass in situ reduces overall management input. While fuel quantities were not explicitly reduced, availability of fuels to fire was reduced. Infrared imagery was obtained to quantify rate of spread and intensity to a 1 m resolution. In-stand totalizing heat flux sensors allowed for the observation of energy release near the surface. When compared with the pre-treatment fuel-type M-2 (mixedwood, 50% conifer), rates of spread were reduced 87% from an expected 8 m min⁻¹ to observed values 1.2 m min⁻¹. Intensity was also reduced from 5000 kWm⁻¹ to 650kWm⁻¹ on average. Intermittent gusts caused surges of fire intensity upwards of 5000 kW m⁻¹ as captured by the infrared imagery. With reference to a logging slash fuel type, observed spread rates declined by 87% and intensity 98%. Independent observations of energy release rates from the radiometers showed similar declines. As mulching is a prevalent fuel management technique in Alberta, Canada, future studies will contribute to the development of a fire behaviour prediction model. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boreal Fire-Fuels Interactions)

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