http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/subjects/read/5?sort=author Publications - Forest Fires en-ca 2012-06-13 13:45:46 MST 2012-06-13 13:45:46 MST webmaster@nofc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33796 Annually, in Canada, forest fires burn an area equal to that harvested. The easiest and most economical way to significantly increase our harvestable timber volume is to sharply reduce or eliminate fire losses in our industrial forest zones. Modern technology, when combined with an appropriate fire control organization structure, makes such a goal feasible for little or no increase in current expenditures. Across Canada, provincial fire control agencies are in various states of evolution. Some have changed little since the 1950s, relying on widely-distributed, multiple-use, forestry personnel operating in a low technology environment to carry out the fire control program. In sharp contrast, however,several agencies have evolved to a highly specialized, city-fire-department-like organization structure, dependent upon integrated computerized information systems, aggressive aerial detection, and forceful, aircraft-based initial attack systems. More than a decade of experience with these organizations has shown that very substantial reductions in operating costs and losses are possible. Over the past several decades, a foundation decision support system has been developed and implemented to serve the basic information needs of most provincial fire control agencies. Additional components, including operations research based models and expert systems, have been added to this foundation in several of the more centralized operations. The expert systems that have been developed and partially tested to date include initial attack dispatch, forest fire occurrence prediction, daily fire control resource positioning, daily aerial fire detection planning, and fire attack priority assignment. None are considered operational to date. These systems integrate object programming concepts, relational databases, rule-based structures, neural networks, traditional operations research algorithms, and modern graphic user interfaces. The concepts underlying the Canadian approach to fire control could play a major role in reducing the terrible losses caused by Australian bush fires. However, modern fire control alone will not solve the Australian bush fire problem. A massive fuel modification program is also required at the same time to continually manage the accumulating fuel. These two components, when combined with the existing prevention program, have the potential to significantly reduce present fire losses. Wed, 13 Jun 2012 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33796 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33692 For the first time, a spatial and monthly inventory has been constructed for carbonaceous particles emitted by boreal and temperate wildfires in forests, shrublands, and grasslands, with burned area data statistics, fuel load maps, fire characteristics, and particle emission factors. The time period considered is 1960–1997, and an important year-to-year variability was observed. On average, boreal and temperate vegetation fires represent 4% of global biomass burning, but during extreme years, their contribution may reach 12%, producing 9% and 20% of black carbon (BC) and particulate organic matter (POM), respectively, emitted by worldwide fires. The North American component of the boreal forest fires (Canada and Alaska) represents 4 to 122 Gg C yr-1 of BC and 0.07 to 2.4 Tg yr-1 of POM emitted, whereas the Eurasiatic component (Russia and northern Mongolia) may vary in the 16 to 474 Gg C yr-1 range for BC and between 0.3 and 9.4 Tg yr-1 for POM, with however great uncertainty. Temperate forests in conterminous United States and Europe have a much lower contribution with an average of 11 Gg C yr-1 of BC and 0.2 Tg yr-1 of POM. Grassland fires in Mongolia represent significant BC and POM sources which may reach 62 Gg C and 0.4 Tg, respectively. Finally, an annual average of BC emissions for shrubland fires in both the Mediterranean region and California is 20 Gg C yr-1, with average POM emissions of 0.1 Tg yr-1. These source maps obtained with a high spatial resolution (lox lo) can now be added to previous ones developed for other global carbonaceous aerosol sources (fossil fuel combustion, tropical biomass burning, agricultural and domestic fires) in order to provide global maps of particulate carbon emissions. Taking into account particle injection height in relation with each type of fire, our source map is a useful tool for studying the atmospheric transport and the impact of carbonaceous aerosols in three-dimensional transport and climate models. Thu, 10 May 2012 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33692 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33043 The Duff Moisture Code (DMC) and Drought Code (DC) components of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System are used by fire managers to assess the vulnerability of organic soils to ignition and depth of burn despite being developed for upland soils. Given the need to assess wildfire risk in peatlands, we compared the DMC and DC in eight peatlands located in five regions in boreal Canada with water table position (WT) and surface volumetric moisture content (VMC). The slope of the change in WT and DC relationship ranged greatly (–0.01 to –0.11 cm) between sites and years likely due to differences in site-specific peat properties, catchment water supply, and presence of seasonal ice. A DC of 400, which has been associated with wildfire vulnerability in uplands, corresponded to a seasonal drop in WT in the range of 4–36 cm. The slopes of the relationships between DMC and DC with 5 and 15 cm VMC also varied greatly between sites. Our findings suggest that these FWI components are suitable for predicting the general moisture status and fire danger in boreal peatlands. However, there is a need for a modified DC for specific peat types to indicate when the WT has reached a critical depth upon which fire danger increases. We also present a suggested framework for the development of a new peat moisture code within the FWI. Thu, 12 Jan 2012 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33043 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=26735 We assessed how well the fuel moisture codes of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System can be used to predict forest floor moisture in burned and in mature, unburned jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) stands in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Moisture content sampled at varying depths in the forest floor profile was compared with hourly variations in the Fine Fuel Moisture Code and daily variations in the Duff Moisture Code and Drought Code. Fuel moisture samples were collected in June 2000 and August 2002 from one mature forest stand and four experimental plots that were burned between 1997 and 2000. Forest floor moisture, drying rate, and water-holding capacity varied between the mature, unburned forest and burned plot areas, as well as between surface and subsurface fuel layers within the mature forest. The Duff Moisture Code was the best predictor of forest floor moisture for all the fuel components examined, based on the coefficient of determination (r2 =0.81–0.90) and because its relationship with forest floor moisture more closely resembled relationships observed in previous studies. Tue, 20 Feb 2007 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=26735 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=26773 Fri, 16 Mar 2007 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=26773 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=30315 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=30315 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=31280 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=31280 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=31281 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=31281 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=24247 Wed, 07 Apr 2004 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=24247 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=28358 Tue, 13 May 2008 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=28358 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33806 A mathematical model is presented for predicting the maximum potential spot fire distance from an active crown fire. This distance can be estimated from the height of the flame above the canopy top, wind speed at canopy-top height and final firebrand size (i.e. its residual size on alighting), represented by the diameter of a cylinder of woody char. The complete model system comprises several submodels or components: a model for the height and tilt angle of the windblown line-fire flame front, a simplified two-dimensional model of the wind-blown buoyant plume from the fire, an assumed logarithmic wind speed variation with height, and an empirically based model for the burning rate of a wooden cylinder in cross flow, which represents the firebrand. The trajectory of the burning particle is expressed analytically from where it leaves the lower boundary of the plume until it enters the canopy top. Adding the horizontal distance of this flight to that of the point where the particle can no longer be held aloft by the plume flow gives a spotting range that depends on the final diameter of the burning particle. Comparisons of model output with existing information on crown fire spotting distances has initially proved encouraging but further evaluation is warranted. Mon, 18 Jun 2012 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33806 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=21390 Wed, 02 Apr 2003 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=21390 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=4499 Sat, 26 Aug 2000 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=4499 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33127 Wildfires play an multiple role in the distribution of dwarf mistletoes. They may either inhibit or encourage these parasite, depending primarily on the size and intensity of the burn. Fire exclusion policies ofthe past half century have increased both infection levels and fire hazard. prescribed burning seems applicable in some forest types and stand conditions to remove infected residuals in cutover ares or to eleminate heavily infested unmerchantable stands. Fri, 27 Jan 2012 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33127 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=9311 Fri, 21 Jul 2000 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=9311 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33441 Tue, 10 Apr 2012 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33441 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33331 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33331 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33444 Tue, 10 Apr 2012 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33444 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33442 Tue, 10 Apr 2012 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33442 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33130 Mon, 30 Jan 2012 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=33130 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=21392 Wed, 02 Apr 2003 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=21392 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=21395 Wed, 02 Apr 2003 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=21395 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=21391 Wed, 02 Apr 2003 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=21391 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=21396 Frontal fire intensity is a valid measure of forest fire behavior that is solely a physical attribute of the fire itself. It is defined as the energy output rate per unit length of fire front and is directly related to flame size. Numerically, it is equal to the product of net heat of combustion, quantity of fuel consumed in the active combustion zone, and a spreading fire's linear rate of advance. The recommended International System (SI) units are kilowatts per metre. This concept of fire intensity provides a quantitative basis for fire description useful in evaluating the impact of fire on forest ecosystems. Wed, 02 Apr 2003 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=21396 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=11559 Tue, 22 Aug 2000 http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=11559