• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.235-245
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• 2023

Forest fuel moisture content is a crucial factor influencing the combustion rate and fuel consumption during forest fires, significantly impacting the occurrence and spread of wildfires. In this study, meteorological data were gathered using a meteorological measuring device (HOBO data logger) installed in the south and north slopes of Kangwon National University Forest, as well as on bare land outside the forest, from November 1, 2021, to October 31, 2022. The objective was to analyze the relationship between meteorological data and fuel moisture content. Fuel moisture content from the ground cover on the south and north slopes was collected. Fallen leaves on the ground were utilized, with a focus on broad-leaved trees (Prunus serrulata, Quercus dentata, Quercus mongolica, and Castanea crenata) and coniferous trees (Pinus densiflora and Pinus koraiensis), categorized by species. Additionally, correlation analysis with fuel moisture content was conducted using temperature (average, maximum, and minimum), humidity (average, minimum), illuminance (average, maximum, and minimum), and wind speed (average, maximum, and minimum) data collected by meteorological measuring devices in the study area. The results indicated a significant correlation between meteorological factors such as temperature, humidity, illuminance, and wind speed, and the moisture content of fuels. Notably, exceptions were observed for the moisture content of the on the north slope and that of the ground cover of Prunus serrulata and Castanea crenata.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.99 no.1
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• pp.52-56
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• 2010

Crown fuel characteristics such as crown bulk density, crown base height, and fuel moisture content of Japanese red pine were analyzed. Ten trees in Mt. Palgong at Daegu, were destructively sampled and their crown fuels were weighed separately for each fuel category. Fuel content of live and dead crown component were 53%, and 15.3%, respectively. Foliar moisture content was 56%. Needles and twigs with diameter less than 1cm diameter accounted for 16.2%, 55% of total and crown fuel load. Average crown bulk density of Japanese red pine was 0.24 kg/$m^3$, effective crown fuel bulk density was 0.1325 kg/$m^3$.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.298-310
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• 2020

Fuel management can play enormous role in fire management in tropical dry forests. However, unlike the temperate forests, knowledge on implications of different fuel management methods in tropical forests is often inadequate. In this study, the implications of prescribed burning and hand thinning treatments on implementation cost, fuel loading and post-treatment fire behaviour were tested and compared in degraded forests and teak plantations in two forest reserves of different levels of dryness in Ghana. The study found that prescribed burning was less expensive (62.02 US Dollars ha-1) than hand thinning (95.37 US Dollars ha-1). The study also indicated that the two fuel management methods were able to reduce fuel loading in degraded forests and teak plantations. However, prescribed burning was more effective in reducing fuel loading than hand thinning. While the relative change of fuel reduction was 13% higher in prescribed burning than the hand thinning in degraded forest, it was 41% higher in prescribed burning than hand thinning in teak plantations. The fire behaviour of post-treatment experimental fire was also lower in prescribed burning than the hand thinning and control plots. Fuel management, therefore, has a great potential in fire management in degraded forests and teak plantations in Ghana.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.172-186
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• 2017

The effects of application of fuel-reduction treatment in wildfire management has not been tested in dry forests of Ghana. Therefore, the short-term ecological effects of prescribed burning and hand thinning treatments followed by experimental wildfire were investigated in degraded forests and Tectona grandis forest plantations in two forest reserves of different levels of dryness in Ghana. The results showed that more trees were killed in prescribed burning (average of 41% in degraded forest and 18% in plantations) than hand thinning (7.2% in degraded forests and 8% in plantation). More tree seedlings were also killed in prescribed burning (72%) than hand thinning (47%). The mortality of trees and seedlings were greater in Worobong South forest, a less dry forest reserve than the Afram Headwaters forest, a drier forest reserve. Fuel treatment especially prescribed burning compared to the control reduced wildfire effects on forest canopy particularly in the less dry forest and tree mortality especially in the drier forest. Prescribed burning temporarily increased pH, exchangeable potassium (52%) and available phosphorus (82%) in the surface soils of the entire plots. The two fuel treatment methods did not have much influence on basal area, organic matter and total nitrogen. Nevertheless, they were able to reduce the adverse wildfire effects on soil pH, exchangeable potassium, available phosphorus, organic matter and total nitrogen concentrations. Fuel treatments therefore have potential application in dry forest management in Ghana due to their ability to retain important forest ecological traits after a wildfire incidence.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.28-41
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• 2009

Because fire has significant impacts on fauna and flora in forest ecosystems, as well as socioeconomic influences to local community, it has been an important field of study for decades. One of the most common ways to reduce fire risk is to enhance fire-resilience of forest through fuel treatments including thinning and prescribed burning. Since fuel treatment can't be practiced over all forested areas, appropriate and effective strategies are needed. The present study aims to look at the relationship between spatial characteristics of forest structure measured with landscape pattern metrics and burn severity to provide guidelines for effective fuel treatments. Samchuck fire was selected for the study, and 232 grids covering the study areas were generated, and the grid size was 1km. The burn severity is measured with dNBR derived from satellite imagery, and spatial characteristics of forest structure were measured using FRAGSTATS for both landscape and class levels for each 1km grid. The results of this study strongly indicated that heterogeneity in composition and configuration of forests may significantly reduce burn severity. By enhancing heterogeneity of forests, fuel treatments for fire-resilience forest could be more effective.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.100 no.2
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• pp.266-272
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• 2011

This study was conducted to analyze the characteristics of crown fuel biomass and to develop allometric equations for the estimation of crown fuel biomass by subjectively categorized the crown component in Pinus densiflora stands. A total of ten representative trees were destructively sampled in Youngju region. Crown fuel were weighed separately for each fuel category by size class. The results of this study showed that foliar moisture content was 119% while the average crown moisture content was 105.3%. The crown fuel/total fuel loading ratio was 30%, needles and twigs with less than 1 cm diameter accounted 50.3% for its fuel/crown fuel loading ratio. Adjusted multiple coefficient of determination of suggested allometric equations ranged from 0.6846 to 0.9246 for crown fuel biomass, 0.8308 for crown volume.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.49-60
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• 2012

The change in fuel moisture in accordance with the number of days after rainfall is an important factor in predicting forest fire dangers and supporting forest fire rangers. Therefore, in order to clear up these forest fire occurrence conditions, forest fire danger levels for surface fuel 0.6 cm or lower, 0.6~3.0 cm, 3.0~6.0 cm, and 6.0 cm or above by fallen leaves layer, humus layer, soil layer, and diameter after rainfall of 5.0 mm and higher in accordance with tree density in 2008, 2009 Spring/Autumn Young Dong region have been analyzed. Research showed an approximate 17 % fuel moisture which is a dangerous forest fire occurrence level after 5 days from rainfall in medium-density areas and 3 days after rainfall in loose-density areas of Spring time in the fallen leaves layer. On the other hand, the humus layer showed a 40 % or higher fuel humidity even after 6 days from rainfall regardless of the season, while the upper and lower parts of the soil layer had a little change. In loose-density areas with 0.6 cm or less surface fuel per diameter in Spring time, the fuel humidity displayed a dangerous level in fire forest occurrence after 3 days, and 4days in medium-density areas, and for loose-density areas with 0.6~3.0 cm surface fuel per diameter in Autumn time it showed a dangerous level in forest fire occurrence after 3 days, and for medium-density areas, 5 days. In the case of 3.0~6.0 cm of fuel moisture per diameter in both Spring and Autumn times, even after 6 days, low and medium-density areas showed that they maintain fuel moisture and therefore the dangers of forest fires were very low, and in the case of 6.0 cm or higher, it showed 25 % or higher fuel moisture even after 6 days from rainfall regardless of the season.

• Proceedings of the Korea Institute of Fire Science and Engineering Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.333-336
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• 2008

This study is the result between the variation of fuel moisture and the risk of forest fire through measuring the change of moisture containing ratio on-site and its average analysis for each diameter of surface dead fuels in the forest. The measurement was performed on six days from the day after a rainfall. The fuel moisture on-site was measured on the day when the accumulated rainfall was above 5.0mm, and the measurements was 2 times in spring. From the pine forest which were distributed around Samcheok and Donghae in Kangwondo, three regions were selected by loose, medium, and dense forest density, and the fuel moisture was measured on the ranges which are less than 0.6cm, 0.6-3.0cm, 3.0-6.0cm, and more than 6.0cm in the forest for six days from the day after a rainfall. The study showed that the moisture containing ratio converged on 3 - 4 days for surface deads fuels which diameter are less than 3.0cm and the convergence was made more than six days for ones which diameters are more than 3.0cm except the surface dead fuel of 3.0-6.0cm diameter of loose forest density.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.99 no.3
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• pp.391-396
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• 2010

To analyze the characteristics of canopy fuel in Pinus densiflora stand, which is essential to assess the crown fire hazard, allometric equations for estimation of crown fuel biomass were developed by subjectively categorized crown fuel component and crown bulk density was analyzed by available fuel component categories. Ten trees were destructively sampled at Pinus densiflora stand in Mt. Palgong in Daegu and their crown fuels were weighed separately for each fuel category by size classes and by living and dead. Regression equations that estimate crown fuel load by diameter at breast height(D) or additional total height(H) were derived. The adjusted coefficient of determination values were the highest (${R^2}_{adj}$=0.835-0.996) and standard error of estimate were the lowest (SEE=0.074-0.638) in the allometric equation lnWt=${\alpha}+{\beta}lnD+{\gamma}lnH$ in average. However, in needles and small branches categories, the differences in ${R^2}_{adj}$ and SEE between equations were not significant. Crown bulk density (CBD), which was calculated by crown fuel load divided by crown volume, was 0.067 kg/$m^3$ in average when only needles were considered as available crown fuel and 0.097 kg/$m^3$ when needles and branches (0-0.5 cm diameter) were considered. The increments of CBD of needles and small branches were little even when diameter at breast height increased.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.179-184
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• 2003

This study investigated the relationship of fuel weight and depth together with slope on the spread of forest fire. Fire spread was faster on the greater slope in forested land. Fire had a greater spread rate with lighter fuel weight. The thickness of the fuel bed and forest fire spread rate were not related. The fire spread rate was closely related to the slope and weight of the fuel bed (significant at 0.01, 0.05, respectively). The thickness of the fuel bed was not significant (0.05).