Treesearch

Background: Wildfire simulation models are used to derive maps of burn probability (BP) based on fuels, weather, topography and ignition locations, and BP maps are key components of wildfire risk assessments. Aims: Few studies have compared BP maps with real-world fires to evaluate their suitability for near-future risk assessment. Here, we evaluated a BP map for the conterminous US based on the large fire simulation model FSim. Methods: We compared BP with observed wildfires from 2016 to 2022 across 128 regions representing similar fire regimes (‘pyromes’). We evaluated the distribution...

This study presents a cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs)/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite membrane for enhanced water vapor separation at elevated temperatures. CNCs/PDMS membranes were fabricated via a casting method and characterized for their permeability, selectivity, and thermal stability. Water vapor permeability was measured using a Payne diffusion cell coupled with a Dynamic Vapor Sorption instrument, while nitrogen gas permeability was determined with a gas permeation cell. The results indicate that incorporating 2% CNCs increased water vapor permeability by 24.8%, 30.9%, and...

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are purported as potential nanoreinforcements in polymer composites; however, the hydrophilic surface nature of CNCs limits their usage in composites if the polymers are hydrophobic, which results in poor compatibility. In this research, renewable biobased CNCs were modified using silylation, which is based on introducing a siloxane group to increase the compatibility between CNCs and the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer. A silylated CNC/PDMS composite membrane was manufactured, which has applications in air dehydration. For this purpose, spray-dried CNC...

Wildfire ash and water-repellent soil are new materials that are formed after a wildfire that change the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of wildfire-burned slopes. Wildfire ash is known to be typically hydrophilic and to retain water, whereas the water-repellent soil layer acts as a hydraulic barrier. However, there is limited in situ soil water content data to understand the short- and long-term impacts of wildfire ash and a water-repellent soil layer on the hydromechanical behavior of burned slopes. This study investigates the trends in water content of wildfire ash, water-repellent...

The dewatering of cellulose nanofibril (CNF) suspensions is important in several processes such as concentrating the material before transportation, producing dry CNFs for composite structures, and applying the material to the surface of a paper web. Dewatering of a CNF suspension onto paper is one possible way to form a CNF layer on paper to produce excellent grease and oil-resistant packaging materials. Even though this property of the CNF suspension is important, little work has been reported in the literature to model and characterize this process. Refiner produced CNF suspensions were...

Interest in biobased adhesives has led to many studies on protein adhesives. Unfortunately, many assume that denatured proteins adopt a permanently extended shape. Neither the properties of the applied soy protein dispersion, properties of the cured adhesive, nor the general protein literature are consistent with proteins being very unfolded or extended. In the presence of water, a compact state (hydrocolloid) is more favorable since it minimizes the number of exposed hydrophobic groups. Each protein chain minimizes contact with water by burying most hydrophobic domains, which is achieved...

Locational errors and sampling bias may produce unrepresentative species distribution models. To decompose the influence of errors, I modeled species distributions of 31 mammal species from georeferenced records and random samples from range maps, with potential sources of errors added or removed, using the random forests algorithm. Errors included the addition of (1) cities, (2) administrative centers, (3) records flagged as potential errors (e.g., outliers), and (4) urban records to range map samples; the removal of (5) flagged records and (6) urban records from georeferenced records;...

Euro-American settlement entailed comprehensive vegetation clearing and fire exclusion, with attendant decreases in fire-tolerant oak and pine tree species and open conditions throughout the southeastern and central eastern United States. While historical tree data are locked in individual land deeds for part of the eastern United States, two assessments during 1900–1909 provided historical tree composition in the southern Appalachian region, primarily in North Carolina. According to assessments during 1900–1909, fire-tolerant oaks and American chestnut (Castanea dentata) were the dominant...

Wildfires can lower soil carbon (C) stocks directly through combustion, but also indirectly during post-fire recovery if microbial C demands outpace photosynthetic C inputs. However, how much C is respired by soil microorganisms post-fire may depend on wildfire effects on particulate organic carbon (POC; mostly plant material accessible to microbes) and/or mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC; considered C protected by minerals from decomposers), meaning assessment of wildfire impacts on these pools is necessary to predict microbial decomposition rates and, thus, the fate of soil C....

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program provides this resource update yearly as an overview of forest resources in Idaho. These estimates are derived from field data collected across a systematic network of fixed-radius forest monitoring plots located on both public and private land. New updates are provided annually as a subset of plots within the State are remeasured. Each year, field crews visit and measure a subset of all FIA plots across the entire State (the size of the subset varies by State and year). Combining all the...