Citation

Wotton BM, Beverly JL. Int. J. Wildland Fire 2007; 16(4): 463-472.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, International Association of Wildland Fire, Fire Research Institute, Publisher CSIRO Publishing)

DOI

10.1071/WF06087

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A large dataset of litter moisture measurements collected at several sites across Canada by the Canadian Forest Service over the period from 1939 to 1961 is analysed. The stands in which sampling was carried out were described by three main variables: forest type (pine, spruce, Douglas fir, mixedwood and deciduous), season (spring, summer and fall), and stand density (light, moderate and dense). All three variables were found to have a significant influence on the relationship between the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System’s Fine Fuel Moisture Code (FFMC) and surface litter moisture. Moisture in the upper duff layer was also found to have a significant influence on the relationship between FFMC and litter moisture content, with a wetter duff layer leading to moister surface conditions than would be indicated by the FFMC value. A model for litter moisture is developed, which provides a method of adjusting the standard FFMC value for the influences of forest type, stand density, season and duff moisture content.