Canadian Forest Service Publications
Physical properties of dead and downed round-wood fuels in the boreal forests of Alberta and Northwest Territories. 1997. Nalder, I.A.; Wein, R.W.; Alexander, M.E.; de Groot, W.J. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 27(9): 1513-1517.
Year: 1997
Issued by: Northern Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 18842
Language: English
Availability: Order paper copy (free), PDF (request by e-mail)
Abstract
Dead and downed woody fuels in forests are commonly estimated using the line intersect method, which requires appropriate values for specific gravity, piece tilt angle, and piece diameter. We present data for these variables for six commercially important tree species based on extensive surveys of slash and naturally fallen dead wood in four regions of the western Canadian boreal forest. The considerable variation by diameter size class, species, cover type, and, to a lesser extent, region suggests that specific values will improve fuel load estimates. We combine the three variables into a single factor so that fuel load (megagrams per hectare) can be simply calculated by multiplying this factor by the number of intersects per metre of sample transect.