Assessing the effect of pruning and thinning on crown fire hazard in young Atlantic maritime pine forests

JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

卷:205

Article

Hevia, Andrea¹  Crabiffosse, Alejandra²  Gabriel Alvarez-Gonzalez, Juan²  Daria Ruiz-Gonzalez, Ana²  Majada, Juan¹ 

[1] Forest & Wood Technol Res Ctr CETEMAS, Pumarabule,Carbayfn,S-N, Siero 33936, Asturias, Spain

[2] Univ Santiago Compostela, Escuela Politecn Super, Dept Ingn Agroforestal, Sustainable Forest Management Unit UXFS, Campus Univ S-N, Lugo 27002, Spain

关键词: Silviculture;    Vertical canopy fuel distribution;    Canopy bulk density;    Canopy base height;    Wildfires;    Pinus pinaster;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.09.051

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Management of fuel to minimize crown fire hazard is a key challenge in Atlantic forests, particularly for pine species. However, a better understanding of effectiveness of silvicultural treatments, especially forest pruning, for hazard reduction is required. Here we evaluate pruning and thinning as two essential silvicultural treatments for timber pine forests. Data came from a network of permanent plots of young maritime pine stands in northwestern Spain. Vertical profiles of canopy bulk density were estimated for field data and simulated scenarios of pruning and thinning using individual tree biomass equations. Analyses of variance were conducted to establish the influence of each silvicultural treatment on canopy fuel variables. Results confirm the important role of both pruning and thinning in the mitigation of crown fire hazard, and that the effectiveness of the treatments is related to their intensity. Finally, models to directly estimate the vertical profile of canopy bulk density (CBD) were fitted using the Weibull probability density function and usual stand variables as regressors. The models developed include variables sensitive to pruning and thinning interventions and provide useful information to prevent extreme fire behavior through effective silviculture. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

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