Abstract
The paper presents the results of tests conducted regarding the flammability and heat release rate (HRR) of selected forest leaf litter under the impact of assumed flux density taking place in fire conditions. Litter samples for testing needs were collected from places characterised by similar biotope parameters. They were collected from 4 types of tree stands: from a cluster of pine trees, beech trees, spruce trees and oak trees. The highest HRRmax values were obtained during the testing of the spruce litter sample at a thermal exposure of 50 kW/m2. This suggests, that as compared to the remaining litter types being tested, this litter released the greatest amount of heat in the given time unit and has an evident impact on the rate and magnitude of a forest fire and in an indirect way on the ignition of subsequent leaf litter in adjacent forest zones.
Highlights
Forests are an area of great importance for a correctly functioning ecosystem and natural landscape, which is vitae for human life
The research problem related to the analyses of the heat and smoke release rate proved to be complicated primarily owing to a lack of uniformity of materials used for testing
After the completion of initial testing it was assumed in the work that the same masses of litter samples would be tested at a layer height 10 mm
Summary
Forests are an area of great importance for a correctly functioning ecosystem and natural landscape, which is vitae for human life. The impact of vanishing forests is to a certain extent related to weather conditions which have recently been recorded, such as violent storms, strong winds, droughts etc These phenomena may cause natural disasters that may have tragic consequences for the flora and fauna, as well as for people. It is not easy to determine the density of thermal flux necessary to ignite the given flammable material, because each type of litter is formed in different natural environments. Burning needles prove to be an element that transmits flames very well They generate a relatively large amount of thermal energy, causing the drying of plant material present in the vicinity. An element that determines the flammability of litter is the percentage of lignin and cellulose it contains, and as much as 65% diverse natural polymers may be found in small dry twigs, cones and outer bark, which are the main component of litter. During decomposition of lignin at a temperature of 128°C, flammable gaseous products are generated, and from cellulose they are generated at temperatures exceeding 200 °C [3, 5]
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