Evaluation and Optimization of Fuel Treatment Effectiveness with an Integrated Experimental/Modeling Approach

Project Description

The effectiveness of a hazardous fuel reduction treatment must take into account both the physical change on fuel loading and structure and the effect that this change may have on wildland fire behavior.

We first took a remote sensing and field measurement approach to quantify the effects of an aggressive fuel treatment program on fuel structure and loading, and started laboratory and field research designed to parameterize and benchmark the Wildland Fire Dynamics Simulator (WFDS). Simulations were geared toward evaluating how changes in fuel loading and structure influence fire behavior.

Findings from this research highlight (1) the additional benefit in fuels reduction resulting from repeated fuel treatments vs. single prescribed fire operations in the under- to mid-canopy; (2) forest floor consumption is predictable using only prefire loadings while canopy fuel consumption is much more dynamic; (3) pitch-pine live fuel moisture content, seasonality, and cohort age interact to result in variable needle flammability though the year; (4) simulations with WFDS indicate that fuel moisture content and the choice of canopy drag coefficient had the most significant effects on model prediction; and (5) while WFDS can simulate moderate- to high-intensity fires, recreating low-intensity fires with reduced fuel loading requires further refinement of the model.

Key Findings

• Fuels reduction improved with repeated fuel treatments vs. single prescribed fire operations in the under- to mid-canopy.
• Forest floor consumption is predictable using only prefire loadings, while canopy fuel consumption is much more dynamic.
• Pitch-pine live fuel moisture content, seasonality, and cohort age interact to result in variable needle flammability though the year.
• Simulations with WFDS indicate that fuel moisture content and the choice of canopy drag coefficient had the most significant effects on model prediction.
• While WFDS can simulate moderate- to high-intensity fires, recreating low-intensity fires with reduced fuel loading requires further refinement of the model.

Project Deliverables

Fire Management and Carbon Sequestration in Pine Barren Forests (Journal of  Sustainable Forestry 2015)