- Title Pages
- [UNTITLED]
- List of Contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
-
chapter 1 . Fire and California Vegetation -
Part I Introduction to Fire Ecology -
chapter 2 . California Climate and Fire Weather -
chapter 3 Fire as a Physical Process -
chapter 4 Fire as an Ecological Process -
chapter 5 Fire and Physical Environment Interactions -
chapter 6 Fire and Plant Interactions -
chapter 7 Fire and Animal Interactions -
PART II The History and Ecology of Fire in California’s Bioregions -
chapter 8 North Coast Bioregion -
chapter 9 . Klamath Mountains Bioregion -
chapter 10 Southern Cascades Bioregion -
chapter 11 . Northeastern Plateaus Bioregion -
chapter 12 Sierra Nevada Bioregion -
chapter 13 Central Valley Bioregion -
chapter 14 . Central Coast Bioregion -
chapter 15 South Coast Bioregion -
chapter 16 Southeastern Deserts Bioregion -
PART III Fire Management Issues in California’s Ecosystems -
chapter 17 The Use of Fire by Native Americans in California -
chapter 18 Fire Management and Policy Since European Settlement -
chapter 19 Fire and Fuel Management -
chapter 20 Fire, Watershed Resources, and Aquatic Ecosystems -
chapter 21 Fire and Air Resources -
chapter 22 Fire and Invasive Plant Species -
chapter 23 Fire and At-Risk Species -
chapter 24 The Future of Fire in California’s Ecosystems -
APPENDIX 1 Plant Common and Scientific Names -
APPENDIX 2 Animal Common and Scientific Names -
APPENDIX 3 Bioregions, Ecological Zones, and Plant Alliances of California that Occur in this Text - Glossary
- Index
Fire as a Physical Process
Fire as a Physical Process
- Chapter:
- (p.38) chapter 3 Fire as a Physical Process
- Source:
- Fire in California's Ecosystems
- Author(s):
Jan W. Van Wagtendonk
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
This chapter explores fire as a physical process, including combustion, fuel characteristics, fuel models, fire weather, ignition sources, mechanisms for fire spread, and fire effects. In wildland fuels, combustion occurs in three phases: preheating, gaseous, and smoldering. Fuel is characterized by physical and chemical properties that affect combustion and fire behavior. Its characteristic classes are defined for a vegetation type and contain data for fuels in up to six strata representing potentially independent combustion environments. Fire weather includes air temperature, atmospheric moisture, atmospheric stability, and clouds and precipitation. Sufficient fuel, conducive weather, and an ignition are necessary ingredients for a fire. In line with this, this chapter investigates how these factors, combined with topography, cause a fire to spread. The chapter also introduces the physical parameters of fire behavior that affect fire severity, spotting, tree scorch height, plant mortality, biomass consumption, and microclimate.
Keywords: combustion, fuel characteristics, fuel models, fire weather, ignition, fire spread, fire effects
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- Title Pages
- [UNTITLED]
- List of Contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
-
chapter 1 . Fire and California Vegetation -
Part I Introduction to Fire Ecology -
chapter 2 . California Climate and Fire Weather -
chapter 3 Fire as a Physical Process -
chapter 4 Fire as an Ecological Process -
chapter 5 Fire and Physical Environment Interactions -
chapter 6 Fire and Plant Interactions -
chapter 7 Fire and Animal Interactions -
PART II The History and Ecology of Fire in California’s Bioregions -
chapter 8 North Coast Bioregion -
chapter 9 . Klamath Mountains Bioregion -
chapter 10 Southern Cascades Bioregion -
chapter 11 . Northeastern Plateaus Bioregion -
chapter 12 Sierra Nevada Bioregion -
chapter 13 Central Valley Bioregion -
chapter 14 . Central Coast Bioregion -
chapter 15 South Coast Bioregion -
chapter 16 Southeastern Deserts Bioregion -
PART III Fire Management Issues in California’s Ecosystems -
chapter 17 The Use of Fire by Native Americans in California -
chapter 18 Fire Management and Policy Since European Settlement -
chapter 19 Fire and Fuel Management -
chapter 20 Fire, Watershed Resources, and Aquatic Ecosystems -
chapter 21 Fire and Air Resources -
chapter 22 Fire and Invasive Plant Species -
chapter 23 Fire and At-Risk Species -
chapter 24 The Future of Fire in California’s Ecosystems -
APPENDIX 1 Plant Common and Scientific Names -
APPENDIX 2 Animal Common and Scientific Names -
APPENDIX 3 Bioregions, Ecological Zones, and Plant Alliances of California that Occur in this Text - Glossary
- Index
