Wildland fires represent an important disturbance for ecosystems in the Mediterranean Basin. Although fire spread and behaviour are dependent on several factors, the water content of live fuel plays an important role in determining fire occurrence and spread, especially in the Mediterranean shrubland, where live fuel is often a relevant component of the available fuel which catches fire. In live plant, water content patterns are related to both environmental conditions (e.g. meteorological variables, soil water availability) and ecophysiological characteristics of the plant species. In addition, more prolonged drought seasons induced by climatic changes is likely to have important repercussions on fuel water status. As a consequence of these remarks, seasonal monitoring of vegetation moisture content, relative to the whole vegetation and the single species, in conjunction with better knowledge of the relationships between weather (i.e. air temperature rainfall, drought) and live fuel moisture content dynamic, can contribute to better understand the effects of prolonged drought season on fuel water status. The aims of this work were i) to analyze the influence of both weather seasonality and inter-annual weather variability on live fuel moisture content within and among some common Mediterranean species, and ii) to investigate the effects of both inter-annual weather variability and prolonged drought season on live moisture content dynamic. The study was carried out in North Sardinia (Italy). Moisture content of live fuel (LFMC) was determined periodically for 8 years on several shrub species. Meteorological variables were also recorded. Relationships between live fuel moisture content and environmental conditions (i.e. rainfall, air temperature and soil moisture) were investigated and the effects of different lengths of drought season on LFMC pattern were analyzed. This work received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under Grant Agreement 243888 ("FUME" Project - Forest fires under climate, social and economic changes in Europe, the Mediterranean and other fire-affected areas of the world).
Relation between drought and pattern of live fuel moisture content in Mediterranean shrubland
Grazia Pellizzaro;Andrea Ventura;Sara Bortolu;Bachisio Arca;Pierpaolo Duce
2015
Abstract
Wildland fires represent an important disturbance for ecosystems in the Mediterranean Basin. Although fire spread and behaviour are dependent on several factors, the water content of live fuel plays an important role in determining fire occurrence and spread, especially in the Mediterranean shrubland, where live fuel is often a relevant component of the available fuel which catches fire. In live plant, water content patterns are related to both environmental conditions (e.g. meteorological variables, soil water availability) and ecophysiological characteristics of the plant species. In addition, more prolonged drought seasons induced by climatic changes is likely to have important repercussions on fuel water status. As a consequence of these remarks, seasonal monitoring of vegetation moisture content, relative to the whole vegetation and the single species, in conjunction with better knowledge of the relationships between weather (i.e. air temperature rainfall, drought) and live fuel moisture content dynamic, can contribute to better understand the effects of prolonged drought season on fuel water status. The aims of this work were i) to analyze the influence of both weather seasonality and inter-annual weather variability on live fuel moisture content within and among some common Mediterranean species, and ii) to investigate the effects of both inter-annual weather variability and prolonged drought season on live moisture content dynamic. The study was carried out in North Sardinia (Italy). Moisture content of live fuel (LFMC) was determined periodically for 8 years on several shrub species. Meteorological variables were also recorded. Relationships between live fuel moisture content and environmental conditions (i.e. rainfall, air temperature and soil moisture) were investigated and the effects of different lengths of drought season on LFMC pattern were analyzed. This work received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under Grant Agreement 243888 ("FUME" Project - Forest fires under climate, social and economic changes in Europe, the Mediterranean and other fire-affected areas of the world).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
