Linking Fire Behavior to Effects: Use of Pyrometers and Thermocouples

Abstract

Linking fire behavior and heating to plant responses is needed to generalize fire effects. Temperature recording devices, such as thermocouples and pyrometers, have been deployed in several studies. Use of these relatively unsophisticated devices is likely to continue as spatiotemporally explicit methods for quantifying temperature variability become more accessible. We compared pyrometer and thermocouple device temperatures placed at ground level and 30 cm aboveground to determine pyrometer suitability as a rapid deployment device for capturing variability within and among four burns conducted in a frequently (every 3 years) burned upland oak-hickory (Quercus-Carya) forest of the Ozark Mountains, AR. Pyrometer temperatures better reflected thermocouple temperatures for burns with higher fire line intensities and heat per unit area. Placement of pyrometers 30 cm aboveground appeared to be more advantageous in recording fire temperatures in upland oak-hickory forests such as those in this study. However, metal (aluminum tag) pyrometer deployment in prescribed burns with an anticipated very low to low fire behavior may not be suitable.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the 22nd Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference

Citation

Bataineh, Mohammad M.; Portner, Brant; Pelkki, Matthew; Ficklin, Robert. 2024. Linking Fire Behavior to Effects: Use of Pyrometers and Thermocouples. In: Bragg, Don C.; Oswald, Brian P.; Koerth, Nancy E., eds. Proceedings of the 22nd biennial southern silvicultural research conference. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-274. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station: 72–79. https://doi.org/10.2737/SRS-GTR-274-Pap11.