Dead Fuel Loads in North Carolina’s Piedmont and Coastal Plain and a Small Scale Assessment of NFDRS Fuel Models

Abstract

Dead fuel loads were measured on six distinct forest management compartments in North Carolina’s Uwharrie national forest, Croatan national forest and the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Average 1-, 10-, 100- and 1000-hour fuels loads were analyzed within and between each of the three research areas and compared to National Fire Danger Rating System fuel model estimates of dead fuel load. Mean dead fuel load measurements were significantly different within and between most research areas and differences tended to increase with fuel class size. While there was good agreement within and between research areas for woody fuels, the addition of litter and duff generally resulted in larger variability and significantly different dead fuel load measurements. NFDRS fuel load estimates compared well with some classes of measured fuel load, but no one model provided estimates comparable with measured fuel load across all fuel size classes within a site. The models tended to estimate 1- and 10-hour fuels well, but generally underestimated 100- and 1000-hour fuels. Large differences between 100- and 1000-hour fuels were mostly the result of high duff and litter measurements, especially on the sites with deep peat soils. This important component of forest fuel loads may not be well represented in the current NFDRS. As forests become more fragmented and managed for different resource objectives, finer scale fuel load estimates may be necessary to accurately assess fire danger and minimize the loss of life and property.