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Approximately 20 experimental fires were conducted on forest plots of 1–4 ha each in 2000–07 in two types of boreal forests in central Siberia, and 18 on 6 × 12-m plots in 2008–10. These experiments were designed to mimic wildfires under similar burning conditions. The fires were conducted in prescribed conditions including full documentation on pre-fire weather, pre-fire and post-fire forest fuels, fire intensities, and other biological, physical and chemical parameters. The amount of particulate matter emitted during a typical fire averaged 0.6 t ha–1 and ranged within 0.2–1.0 t ha–1 depending on burning conditions. Particulates accounted for ~1–7% of the total mass of the consumed biomass during a typical forest fire (10–30 t ha–1 based on our data from 2000–07). Most of the particulate matter consists of organic substances, 77% on average, with a range of 70–90%. Elemental carbon averaged 8%, with a range of 2–18%. Trace element compositions and amounts of particulates indicate that there was no actual difference in the element emissions sampled from the fires conducted in the two forest types (6–8% in larch forest and 8% in pine forest). Most of the particulate matter, 90–95%, consists of submicrometre and near-micrometre particles ~0.1–5 μm in diameter.

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