Abstract

Accurate quantification of fine fuel loads (e.g. foliage and twigs) in forests is required for many fire behaviour models, and for assessing post-fire changes in carbon stocks and modelling smoke emissions. Fine fuels burn readily and are thus often targeted for fuel load assessments. Estimates of fine live fuel loads often rely on visual assessments or utilise allometric equations that relate stem diameter of plants to total above-ground biomass. Here, we develop allometric equations for shrubs that relate stem diameter to the portion of above-ground biomass comprised of fine fuel. Our study area is within the temperate eucalypt forests of south-eastern Australia. We present equations for (i) foliage; (ii) all biomass < 3 mm diameter; (iii) all biomass < 6 mm diameter; and (iv) all above-ground biomass. Simple power-law models were developed for five shrub species and saplings of two tree species. Models combining all species (RMSE = 0.03–0.0.06) worked similarly well to species-specific models (RMSE = 0.01–0.08). We then applied these all-species combined models to field observations of shrub stem diameters, measured before and after planned burns. In unburnt forest, the proportion of shrub biomass comprised of fine fuel varied considerably (from 6 to 58%). Fine fuel loads were positively related to total above-ground biomass (R2 = 0.75) and basal area of shrubs (R2 = 0.79). There was considerable variation in consumption of fine fuel. The median reduction in fine fuel load was 22.4%, whereas the median reduction in total above-ground biomass was only 2.3%. Our models of shrub fine fuels can be readily applied to field-based assessments or combined with existing models or remotely sensed estimates of above-ground biomass to model fine fuel loads over large heterogeneous study areas.

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