Forest floor fuel consumption and carbon emissions in Canadian boreal forest fires

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.J. de Groot ◽  
J.M. Pritchard ◽  
T.J. Lynham
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Fire Weather Index ◽  
Experimental Burn ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest

In many forest types, over half of the total stand biomass is located in the forest floor. Carbon emissions during wildland fire are directly related to biomass (fuel) consumption. Consumption of forest floor fuel varies widely and is the greatest source of uncertainty in estimating total carbon emissions during fire. We used experimental burn data (59 burns, four fuel types) and wildfire data (69 plots, four fuel types) to develop a model of forest floor fuel consumption and carbon emissions in nonpeatland standing-timber fuel types. The experimental burn and wildfire data sets were analyzed separately and combined by regression to provide fuel consumption models. Model variables differed among fuel types, but preburn fuel load, duff depth, bulk density, and Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System components at the time of burning were common significant variables. The regression R2 values ranged from 0.206 to 0.980 (P < 0.001). The log–log model for all data combined explained 79.5% of the regression variation and is now being used to estimate annual carbon emissions from wildland fire. Forest floor carbon content at the wildfires ranged from 40.9% to 53.9%, and the carbon emission rate ranged from 0.29 to 2.43 kg·m–2.

Future emissions from Canadian boreal forest fires

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.D. Amiro ◽  
A. Cantin ◽  
M.D. Flannigan ◽  
W.J. de Groot
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Global Climate Model ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Weather Index ◽  
Fire Weather Index ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest ◽  
Almost All

New estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from Canadian forest fires were calculated based on a revised model for fuel consumption, using both the fire fuel load and the Drought Code of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System. This model was applied to future climate scenarios of 2×CO2 and 3×CO2 environments using the Canadian Global Climate Model. Total forest floor fuel consumption for six boreal ecozones was estimated at 60, 80, and 117 Tg dry biomass for the 1×CO2, 2×CO2, and 3×CO2 scenarios, respectively. These ecozones cover the boreal and taiga regions and account for about 86% of the total fire consumption for Canada. Almost all of the increase in fuel consumption for future climates is caused by an increase in the area burned. The effect of more severe fuel consumption density (kilograms of fuel consumed per square metre) is relatively small, ranging from 0% to 18%, depending on the ecozone. The emissions of greenhouse gases from all Canadian fires are estimated to increase from about 162 Tg·year–1 of CO2 equivalent in the 1×CO2 scenario to 313 Tg·year–1 of CO2 equivalent in the 3×CO2 scenario, including contributions from CO2, CH4, and N2O.

scholarly journals Modeling Regional-Scale Wildland Fire Emissions with the Wildland Fire Emissions Information System*

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy H. F. French ◽  
Donald McKenzie ◽  
Tyler Erickson ◽  
Benjamin Koziol ◽  
Michael Billmire ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Information System ◽  
North America ◽  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
The U.S ◽  
The Web

Abstract As carbon modeling tools become more comprehensive, spatial data are needed to improve quantitative maps of carbon emissions from fire. The Wildland Fire Emissions Information System (WFEIS) provides mapped estimates of carbon emissions from historical forest fires in the United States through a web browser. WFEIS improves access to data and provides a consistent approach to estimating emissions at landscape, regional, and continental scales. The system taps into data and tools developed by the U.S. Forest Service to describe fuels, fuel loadings, and fuel consumption and merges information from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration on fire location and timing. Currently, WFEIS provides web access to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) burned area for North America and U.S. fire-perimeter maps from the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity products from the USGS, overlays them on 1-km fuel maps for the United States, and calculates fuel consumption and emissions with an open-source version of the Consume model. Mapped fuel moisture is derived from daily meteorological data from remote automated weather stations. In addition to tabular output results, WFEIS produces multiple vector and raster formats. This paper provides an overview of the WFEIS system, including the web-based system functionality and datasets used for emissions estimates. WFEIS operates on the web and is built using open-source software components that work with open international standards such as keyhole markup language (KML). Examples of emissions outputs from WFEIS are presented showing that the system provides results that vary widely across the many ecosystems of North America and are consistent with previous emissions modeling estimates and products.

scholarly journals Analysis on carbon footprint: A case study of Gorkhapatra national daily in Nepal

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-49
Author(s):  
Anukram Sharma ◽  
Khem N Poudyal ◽  
Nawraj Bhattarai
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Carbon Emission ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Daily Newspaper ◽  
The Cost

Study of carbon footprint is an emerging field which provides statistical analysis about the contribution of an activity on global climate change. Every human activity in daily life is achieved at the expense of those substances which directly or indirectly contribute to global warming. In this era of global communication, humans are habitual to know about the ongoing changes in the world. Newspapers are one of the reliable sources for getting updated about the global information. Paper-based newspapers come at the cost of greenhouse gas emissions. So, this article based upon an analysis of carbon footprint of Nepal’s national daily newspaper provides evaluation of each of the following: carbon emission during the manufacturing of raw materials, carbon emission from fuel consumption during transportation of raw materials, carbon emissions during the printing of newspaper and carbon emission from the fuel consumption during the transportation of printed newspaper. During the study period of 2019 A.D., the result shows that the total carbon emission of Gorkhapatra newspaper was found to be 2308.5 kg CO2e per ton. The upshot of this study provides not only thorough information about carbon emissions but also builds a foundation for calculation of carbon emissions from paper used in various sectors.

Direct carbon emissions from Canadian forest fires, 1959-1999

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 512-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
B D Amiro ◽  
J B Todd ◽  
B M Wotton ◽  
K A Logan ◽  
M D Flannigan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Fire Effects ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Post Fire Effects ◽  
Large Fires ◽  
Sink Condition ◽  
The Mean

Direct emissions of carbon from Canadian forest fires were estimated for all Canada and for each ecozone for the period 1959–1999. The estimates were based on a data base of large fires for the country and calculations of fuel consumption for each fire using the Canadian Forest Fire Behaviour Prediction System. This technique used the fire locations and start dates to estimate prevailing fire weather and fuel type for each of about 11 000 fires. An average of 2 × 106 ha·year–1 was burned in this period, varying from 0.3 × 106 ha in 1978 to 7.5 × 106 ha in 1989. Ecozones of the boreal and taiga areas experienced the greatest area burned, releasing most of the carbon (C). The mean area-weighted fuel consumption for all fires was 2.6 kg dry fuel·m–2 (1.3 kg C·m–2), but ecozones vary from 1.8 to 3.9 kg dry fuel·m–2. The mean annual estimate of direct carbon emissions was 27 ± 6 Tg C·year–1. Individual years ranged from 3 to 115 Tg C·year–1. These direct fire emissions represent about 18% of the current carbon dioxide emissions from the Canadian energy sector, on average, but vary from 2 to 75% among years. Post-fire effects cause an additional loss of carbon and changes to the forest sink condition.

Estimates of carbon emissions from forest fires in Japan, 1979–2008

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiaki Goto ◽  
Satoru Suzuki
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Trace Gases ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Carbon Cycles ◽  
Trace Gas Emissions ◽  
Carbon Release ◽  
Annual Carbon ◽  
The Mean

Emissions from forest fires directly affect the global and regional carbon cycles by increasing atmospheric carbon as well as affecting carbon sequestration by forests. We have estimated the release of total carbon, carbon-based trace gases (CO2, CO, CH4) and non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) emitted from forest fires in Japan during a 30-year period from 1979 through 2008. The area burnt varied widely from year to year but has gradually diminished since the 1980s. The mean annual area burnt during the period was 1878 ha. The mean annual estimate of direct carbon emissions from forest fires in Japan was 15.8 Gg C year–1 and ranged between 2.7 and 60.4 Gg C year–1. The mean annual trace gas emissions were 49.4 Gg CO2 year–1, 3.4 Gg CO year–1, 0.15 Gg CH4 year–1 and 0.18 Gg NMHC year–1. Although the carbon emissions varied widely from year to year based on the area burnt, they decreased dramatically from the 1980s onward. The interannual variations in trace gases parallel the total carbon emissions. The direct emissions from forest fires in Japan were substantially lower compared with the mean annual net primary production of Japanese forests or the carbon release in other countries and regions. However, the average annual carbon released per unit area burnt was comparable to that estimated in other regions and rose gradually with the increasing age of plantations.

Estimating direct carbon emissions from Canadian wildland fires

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 593 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. de Groot ◽  
Robert Landry ◽  
Werner A. Kurz ◽  
Kerry R. Anderson ◽  
Peter Englefield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Forest Sector ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Test Procedures ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Area Burned

In support of Canada’s National Forest Carbon Monitoring, Accounting and Reporting System, a project was initiated to develop and test procedures for estimating direct carbon emissions from fires. The Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS) provides the infrastructure for these procedures. Area burned and daily fire spread estimates are derived from satellite products. Spatially and temporally explicit indices of burning conditions for each fire are calculated by CWFIS using fire weather data. The Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3) provides detailed forest type and leading species information, as well as pre-fire fuel load data. The Boreal Fire Effects Model calculates fuel consumption for different live biomass and dead organic matter pools in each burned cell according to fuel type, fuel load, burning conditions, and resulting fire behaviour. Carbon emissions are calculated from fuel consumption. CWFIS summarises the data in the form of disturbance matrices and provides spatially explicit estimates of area burned for national reporting. CBM-CFS3 integrates, at the national scale, these fire data with data on forest management and other disturbances. The methodology for estimating fire emissions was tested using a large-fire pilot study. A framework to implement the procedures at the national scale is described.

Integrating forest fuels and land cover data for improved estimation of fuel consumption and carbon emissions from boreal fires

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Anderson ◽  
Brian Simpson ◽  
Ronald J. Hall ◽  
Peter Englefield ◽  
Michael Gartrell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Carbon Emission ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Forest Fuels ◽  
Spatial Approach

Estimating carbon emissions from wildland fires is complicated by the large variation in both forest fuels and burning conditions across Canada’s boreal forest. The potential for using spatial fuel maps to improve wildland fire carbon emission estimates in Canada’s National Forest Carbon Monitoring, Accounting and Reporting System (NFCMARS) was evaluated for select wildfires (representing a transect across western Canada) occurring in 2003 and 2004 at four study areas in western Canada. Area-normalised emission rates and total emissions differed by fuels data source, mainly as a function of the treatment of open fuels in the higher resolution spatial fuel models. The use of spatial data to refine the selection of stand types that probably burned and the use of fire weather conditions specific to the fire increased the precision of total carbon emission estimates, relative to computational procedures used by Canada’s NFCMARS. Estimates of total emissions from the NFCMARS were consistent with the regional and national data sources following the spatial approach, suggesting the two approaches had equivalent accuracies. Though it cannot be said with certainty that the inclusion of this detailed information improved accuracy, the spatial approach offers the promise or potential for more accurate results, pending more consistent fuel maps, especially at finer scales.

scholarly journals Daily burned area and carbon emissions from boreal fires in Alaska

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 17579-17629
Author(s):  
S. Veraverbeke ◽  
B. M. Rogers ◽  
J. T. Randerson
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Carbon Consumption ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Spruce Stands

Abstract. Boreal fires burn carbon-rich organic soils, thereby releasing large quantities of trace gases and aerosols that influence atmospheric composition and climate. To better understand the factors regulating boreal fire emissions, we developed a statistical model of carbon consumption by fire for Alaska with a spatial resolution of 500 m and a temporal resolution of one day. We used the model to estimate variability in carbon emissions between 2001 and 2012. Daily burned area was mapped using imagery from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer combined with perimeters from the Alaska Large Fire Database. Carbon consumption was calibrated using available field measurements from black spruce forests in Alaska. We built two nonlinear multiplicative models to separately predict above- and belowground carbon consumption by fire in response to environmental variables including elevation, day of burning within the fire season, pre-fire tree cover and the differenced normalized burn ratio (dNBR). Higher belowground consumption occurred later in the season and for mid-elevation regions. Aboveground and belowground consumption also increased as a function of tree cover and the dNBR, suggesting a causal link between the processes regulating these two components of consumption. Between 2001 and 2012, the median fuel consumption was 2.48 kg C m-2 and the median pixel-based uncertainty (SD of prediction error) was 0.38 kg C m-2. There were considerable amounts of burning in other cover types than black spruce and consumption in pure black spruce stands was generally higher. Fuel consumption originated primarily from the belowground fraction (median = 2.30 kg C m-2 for all cover types and 2.63 kg C m-2 for pure black spruce stands). Total carbon emissions varied considerably from year to year, with the highest emissions occurring during 2004 (67 Tg C), 2005 (44 Tg C), 2009 (25 Tg C), and 2002 (16 Tg C) and a mean of 14 Tg C per year between 2001 and 2012. Our analysis highlights the importance of accounting for the spatial heterogeneity within fuels and consumption when extrapolating emissions in space and time. This data on daily burned area and emissions may be useful for in understanding controls and limits on fire growth, and predicting potential feedbacks of changing fire regimes.

scholarly journals Vegetation structure and fire weather influence variation in burn severity and fuel consumption during peatland wildfires

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 15737-15762 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. Davies ◽  
R. Domènech ◽  
A. Gray ◽  
P. C. D. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Burn Severity ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Fire Weather ◽  
Prescribed Burns ◽  
Fire Weather Index ◽  
Fuel Loads ◽  
Blanket Bog ◽  
Generalised Linear Mixed Model

Abstract. Temperate peatland wildfires are of significant environmental concern but information on their environmental effects is lacking. We assessed variation in burn severity and fuel consumption within and between wildfires that burnt British moorlands in 2011 and 2012. We adapted the Composite Burn Index (pCBI) to provide semi-quantitative estimates of burn severity. Pre- and post-fire surface (shrubs and graminoids) and ground (litter, moss, duff) fuel loads associated with large wildfires were assessed using destructive sampling and analysed using a Generalised Linear Mixed Model (GLMM). Consumption during wildfires was compared with published estimates of consumption during prescribed burns. Burn severity and fuel consumption were related to fire weather, assessed using the Canadian Fire Weather Index System (FWI System), and pre-fire fuel structure. pCBI varied 1.6 fold between, and up to 1.7 fold within, wildfires. pCBI was higher where moisture codes of the FWI System indicated drier fuels. Spatial variation in pre- and post-fire fuel load accounted for a substantial proportion of the variance in fuel loads. Average surface fuel consumption was a linear function of pre-fire fuel load. Average ground fuel combustion completeness could be predicted by the Buildup Index. Carbon release ranged between 0.36 and 1.00 kg C m−2. The flammability of ground fuel layers may explain the higher C release-rates seen for wildfires in comparison to prescribed burns. Drier moorland community types appear to be at greater risk of severe burns than blanket-bog communities.

scholarly journals Vegetation structure and fire weather influence variation in burn severity and fuel consumption during peatland wildfires

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. Davies ◽  
R. Domènech ◽  
A. Gray ◽  
P. C. D. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Burn Severity ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Fire Weather ◽  
Prescribed Burns ◽  
Fire Weather Index ◽  
Fuel Loads ◽  
Blanket Bog ◽  
Generalised Linear Mixed Model

Abstract. Temperate peatland wildfires are of significant environmental concern but information on their environmental effects is lacking. We assessed variation in burn severity and fuel consumption within and between wildfires that burnt British moorlands in 2011 and 2012. We adapted the composite burn index (pCBI) to provide semi-quantitative estimates of burn severity. Pre- and post-fire surface (shrubs and graminoids) and ground (litter, moss, duff) fuel loads associated with large wildfires were assessed using destructive sampling and analysed using a generalised linear mixed model (GLMM). Consumption during wildfires was compared with published estimates of consumption during prescribed burns. Burn severity and fuel consumption were related to fire weather, assessed using the Canadian Fire Weather Index System (FWI System), and pre-fire vegetation type. pCBI varied 1.6 fold between, and up to 1.7 fold within, wildfires. pCBI was higher where moisture codes of the FWI System indicated drier fuels. Spatial variation in pre- and post-fire fuel load accounted for a substantial proportion of the variance in fuel loads. Average surface fuel consumption was a linear function of pre-fire fuel load. Average ground fuel combustion completeness could be predicted by the Buildup Index. Carbon release ranged between 0.36 and 1.00 kg C m−2. The flammability of ground fuel layers may explain the higher C release-rates seen for wildfires in comparison to prescribed burns. Drier moorland community types appear to be at greater risk of severe burns than blanket-bog communities.

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