Effects of vegetation type and fire regime on flammability of undisturbed litter in Southeastern France

Ganteaume, Anne; Jappiot, Marielle; Lampin-Maillet, C.; Curt, Thomas; Borgniet, L.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.09.046

Cited by 55 publications

(55 citation statements)

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“…Undisturbed litter samples of each species were collected under the hedges, to take into account the real fuel structure, as a previous study highlighted the fact that the microstructure of the fuel affected the flammability of the litter (Ganteaume et al 2011a). Thus, the litter samples were mainly composed of particles coming from the species studied but also from nearby species to a lesser extent.…”

Section: Field Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A 50-g sub-sample of the oven-dried litter of each species was sorted in the laboratory to determine the proportions of the different litter components, as previous studies showed that litter composition affects flammability (Ganteaume et al 2011a;Curt et al 2011). For sorting, 10 classes of litter components were taken into account because of their specific flammability: (i) deciduous and (ii) evergreen leaves, (iii) scale-like leaves, (iv) needles, (v) fine particles (<2 mm in diameter) and (vi) coarse particles (>2 mm in diameter) mainly composed of twigs and fruits, (vii) grasses, (viii) non-…”

Section: Sorting Of Litter Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Before each ignition test, litter depth, biomass and bulk density were measured. The ignition setup was operated according to a protocol used in previous studies (Ganteaume et al 2009(Ganteaume et al , 2011a(Ganteaume et al , 2011b, using a consistent Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) deadwood piece (2 × 2 × 1 cm) that was left at room temperature to equilibrate to ~7% moisture content. The wood piece was placed on a 500-W epiradiator at a constant temperature of 415ºC and emitting a constant 7.5 W cm -2 radiation (Epiradiator Standard NF P 92-509-1985) until ignition, as described in Ganteaume et al (2009).…”

Section: Burning Experiments Using a Fire Benchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sorting of the undisturbed litters sampled in monospecific hedges allowed us to determine their composition because the proportions of their components were assumed to have an influence on litter flammability (Ganteaume et al 2011a;Curt et al 2011). As the samples were not reconstructed, they were composed of different particles of different sizes, mainly taken from the two top soil layers (L and F) but a small proportion also came from the H layer (debris).…”

Section: Composition Of Littersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The importance of non-woody surface-fuel in wildfire has been addressed in numerous studies in terms of the effects of its arrangement (Bradstock and Cohn 2002) and morphology (Scarff and Westoby 2006), for instance. The flammability of the leaves or needles of the main Mediterranean species regarded as fuel or firebrand involved in spot fires has already been assessed in several studies (Valette 1990;Dimitrakopoulos and Papaioannou 2001;Ganteaume et al 2009Ganteaume et al , 2011aGanteaume et al , 2011b but the flammability of litters sampled under vegetation planted in hedges remains to be assessed.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Assessing the flammability of surface fuels beneath ornamental vegetation in wildland–urban interfaces in Provence (south-eastern France)

Ganteaume¹,

Jappiot²,

Lampin³

2013

Int. J. Wildland Fire

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The objectives of this paper are to assess in laboratory conditions the flammability of undisturbed litter sampled beneath plants of seven species that are among those most frequently planted in hedges in Provence (south-eastern France). The variability in litter flammability recorded during burning experiments was partly explained by the proportions of the different litter components of each species. Phyllostachys sp. and Nerium oleander litters were the quickest to ignite whereas Prunus laurocerasus litter had the lowest bulk density and long time-to-ignition, but high flame-propagation. Photinia fraseri litter ignited frequently and had a high flame spread whereas Pittosporum tobira litter ignited the least frequently and for the shortest duration. Cupressus sempervirens litter had the highest bulk density and the longest flaming duration but the lowest flame propagation. Pyracantha coccinea litter was the slowest to ignite and flame propagation was low but lasted a long time. Co-inertia analysis identified species with the same flammability characteristics according to the composition of their litter. Hierarchical cluster analysis ranked the seven species in four distinct clusters from the most flammable (Photinia fraseri and Prunus laurocerasus) to the least flammable (Pittosporum tobira), the other species displaying two groups of intermediate flammability. These latter species should not be used in hedges planted in wildland–urban interfaces in south-eastern France.

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Section: Field Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sorting Of Litter Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Burning Experiments Using a Fire Benchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Composition Of Littersmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the flammability of surface fuels beneath ornamental vegetation in wildland–urban interfaces in Provence (south-eastern France)

Ganteaume¹,

Jappiot²,

Lampin³

2013

Int. J. Wildland Fire

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Spreaders, igniters, and burning shrubs: plant flammability explains novel fire dynamics in grass‐invaded deserts

Fuentes‐Ramírez

Veldman

Holzapfel

et al. 2016

Ecological Applications

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Novel fire regimes are an important cause and consequence of global environmental change that involve interactions among biotic, climatic, and human components of ecosystems. Plant flammability is key to these interactions, yet few studies directly measure flammability or consider how multiple species with different flammabilities interact to produce novel fire regimes. Deserts of the southwestern USA are an ideal system for exploring how novel fire regimes can emerge when fire-promoting species invade ecosystems comprised of species that did not evolve with fire. In these deserts, exotic annual grasses provide fuel continuity across landscapes that did not historically burn. These fires often ignite a keystone desert shrub, the fire-intolerant creosote bush, Larrea tridentata (DC.) Coville. Ignition of Larrea is likely catalyzed by fuels produced by native plants that grow beneath the shrubs. We hypothesize that invasive and native species exhibit distinct flammability characteristics that in combination determine spatial patterns of fire spread and intensity. We measured flammability metrics of Larrea, two invasive grasses, Schismus arabicus and Bromus madritensis, and two native plants, the sub-shrub Ambrosia dumosa and the annual herb Amsinckia menziesii. Results of laboratory experiments show that the grasses carry fire quickly (1.32 cm/sec), but burn for short duration (0.5 min) at low temperatures. In contrast, native plants spread fire slowly (0.12 cm/sec), but burn up to eight times longer (4 min) and produced hotter fires. Additional experiments on the ignition requirements of Larrea suggest that native plants burn with sufficient temperature and duration to ignite dead Larrea branches (time to ignition: 2 min; temperature at ignition 692 °C). Once burning, these dead branches ignite living branches in the upper portions of the shrub. Our study provides support for a conceptual model in which exotic grasses are "spreaders" of fire and native plants growing beneath shrubs are "igniters" of dead Larrea branches. Once burning, flames produced by dead branches engulf the entire shrub, resulting in locally intense fires without historical precedent in this system. We suggest that fire models and conservation-focused management could be improved by incorporating the distinct flammability characteristics and spatial distributions of spreaders, igniters, and keystone shrubs. Accepted Article Accepted ArticleThis article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/eap.1371 This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Accepted Article Accepted ArticleThis article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. AbstractNovel fire regimes are an important cause and consequence of global environmental change that involve interactions among biotic, climatic, and ...

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Review of Fire Risk Factors for Fire Risk Assessment in Urban Areas: The Case of Ahmedabad, India

Raval,

Motiani

2024

Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering

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Effects of vegetation type and fire regime on flammability of undisturbed litter in Southeastern France

Cited by 55 publications

References 25 publications

Assessing the flammability of surface fuels beneath ornamental vegetation in wildland–urban interfaces in Provence (south-eastern France)

Assessing the flammability of surface fuels beneath ornamental vegetation in wildland–urban interfaces in Provence (south-eastern France)

Spreaders, igniters, and burning shrubs: plant flammability explains novel fire dynamics in grass‐invaded deserts

Review of Fire Risk Factors for Fire Risk Assessment in Urban Areas: The Case of Ahmedabad, India

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