FRST 320 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Understory
Document Summary
The fire environment: fuels and topography: the fire environment triangle. Fire behavior is the manner in which fuels ignite, flames develop and fire spreads and exhibits other phenomena. It is a product of the fire environment. The fire environment triangle represents three environmental components, fuels, topography and weather, interacting with one another and with fire itself to determine the characteristics and behavior of fire at any given moment. They are also used to evaluate fire risk and hazard (e. g. , the canadian forest fire danger rating. System to be covered later in the course): fuels. Of the three elements of the fire environment, fuel is only one over which we have direct control. Fuel does not start fires but it does affect the ease of ignition, fire size and fire intensity. Extrinsic properties variations in types of fuel complexes. Vary spatially and temporally based on disturbance, stand dynamics, life histories of forest species.
