Document

Title

Duff moisture dynamics in black spruce feather moss stands and their relation to the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System
Document Type: Thesis
Author(s): Brenda L. Wilmore
Publication Year: 2001

Cataloging Information

Keyword(s):
  • black spruce
  • bulk density
  • CFFDRS - Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System
  • destructive sampling
  • DMC - CFFDRS Duff Moisture Code
  • duff moisture
  • feathermoss
  • fire weather index
  • fuel moisture
  • Picea mariana
  • TDR probes
Topic(s):
Region(s):
Partner Site(s):
Record Maintained By:
FRAMES Staff; https://www.frames.gov/contact
Record Last Modified: March 27, 2018
FRAMES Record Number: 6534

Description

The Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System's Fire Weather Index (FWI) System models 3 levels of fuel moisture within the forest floor using simple environmental inputs. Wildland fire managers in interior Alaska have expressed concern that the FWI system does not take northern latitude factors such as long day lengths and permafrost into account. During the 1999 fire season destructive sampling methods were employed to monitor moisture content throughout the feather moss profile in 3 interior Alaska black spruce stands. Measured moisture contents were compared to the FWI system's fuel moisture predictions. The FWI System followed general trends of the seasonal fuel moisture within the feather moss profile. However, the short-term response of the interior Alaska moss profile is more dynamic than the FWI system's fuel moisture code predictions. Hydraulic properties that have been linked to bulk density may be the causative agent for the observed short-term discrepancy.

Online Link(s):
Link to this document (607 KB; pdf)
Citation:
Wilmore, Brenda. 2001. Duff moisture dynamics in black spruce feather moss stands and their relation to the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System. Master of Science. University of Alaska-Fairbanks. 105 pp.

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