Moisture absorption and drying alter nonadditive litter flammability in a mixed conifer forest

Dylan Schwilk, Rita Quinones de Magalhaes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

\item Moisture content is a strong determinant of forest fuel<br>flammability. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which<br>species-specific litter traits influence litter moisture absorption and<br>retention. Characterizing how litter fuels retain moisture through time and<br>how fuels from multiple species interact are key steps to adding taxon<br>specific information to fire behavior prediction.<br><br>\item To fill these gaps in knowledge, we determined moisture absorption<br>and retention characteristics of the litter from multiple tree species,<br>investigated what litter traits influenced these processes, and tested for<br>nonadditive moisture dynamics and nonadditive flammability in multi-species<br>mixtures. The litter from eight tree species of a mixed-conifer forest was<br>saturated and allowed to dry to determine moisture absorption capacity and<br>drying rates. Burn trials were performed in litter beds of single species<br>and of mixtures to establish f
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)234-245
JournalJournal of Ecology
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021

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