Abstract
ABSTRACT Flame retardants are efficient in fighting wildfire; however, their environmental implications, especially regarding the vegetation, need to be clarified. This work aimed at assessing the effects of flame retardant on the initial growth of Schizolobium amazonicum. Treatments consisted in applying different flame retardant concentrations via substrate and leaf: Phos-Chek WD-881® (0, 3.00, 6.00, 8.00 and 10.00 mL L-1), Hold Fire® (0, 7.00, 9.00, 12.00 and 15.00 mL L-1) and water-retaining polymer Nutrigel® used as alternative retardant (0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 g L-1). Growth analyses were carried out to assess the effects of these substances (10 repetitions per treatment). The aliquot of 10.00 mL L-1 of Phos-Chek WD881 applied on the leaves led to an increase of 70% in leaf area and 15% in seedling height. The same Phos-Chek concentration favored height increase (32%) and total dry mass accumulation (33%) throughout time. The concentration of 15 mL L-1 of Hold Fire® applied on leaves, compromised 45% the accumulation of dry biomass in the seedling. Initially, 1.00 g L-1 of Nutrigel® applied via substrate led to an increase of 70% in leaf area, 29% in plant height, and 89% in leaf dry mass. Therefore, Phos-Chek applied on leaves favored shoot growth in S. amazonicum. Hold Fire® applied on leaves impaired biomass accumulation in seedlings. Nutrigel® applied on substrate does not cause long-lasting damage to the initial growth of S. amazonicum. The aliquot of 0.50 g L-1 administered via polymer leave had positive effect on seedling shoot.
Highlights
Concern with ecological, economic and social damage caused by wildfire has boosted the development of promising techniques to prevent and hold fire, and flame retardant using stands out among them
Results recorded for Phos-Chek WD881® application in the present study corroborated the study by Song et al, (2014), according to whom, plants recover from stress caused by short duration retardants and these retardants mean no danger of phytotoxic effect on the long-run
Retardant interaction with seedlings via substrate did not cause any negative change in their growth if one takes into account values observed for the shoot of S. amazonicum seedlings (15 days after sowing (DAS) and 15 DAT)
Summary
Economic and social damage caused by wildfire has boosted the development of promising techniques to prevent and hold fire, and flame retardant using stands out among them. Retardants are chemical products added to water to increase its extinguishing efficiency by reducing time and the amount of water resources necessary to control fire (Couto-Vazquéz and Gonzaléz-Prieto, 2013). Flame retardants can have long or short duration depending on the time their extinguishing behavior lasts. Long duration retardants have fertilizing salts that keep the suppressing activity even after water evaporation (Kalabokidis, 2000; Giménez et al, 2004; Marshal et al, 2016). Foam fire suppression, are composed of surfactant, foaming and wetting agents that change water physical features by delaying evaporation and producing a continuous coat over the combustible material (Plucinski et al, 2017). Few national research about this topic are related to retardants’ efficiency in fighting fire (Machado Filho et al, 2012; Fiedler et al, 2015; Canzian, et al, 2016)
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