Tissue-Level Flammability Testing: A Review of Existing Methods and a Comparison of a Novel Hot Plate Design to an Epiradiator Design
Increased wildfire frequency and size has led to a surge in flammability research, most of which investigates landscape-level patterns and wildfire dynamics. There has been a recent shift towards organism-scale mechanisms that may drive these patterns, as more studies focus on flammability of plants...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Fire |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/6/4/149 |
| _version_ | 1827745102603223040 |
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| author | Joe V. Celebrezze Indra Boving Max A. Moritz |
| author_facet | Joe V. Celebrezze Indra Boving Max A. Moritz |
| author_sort | Joe V. Celebrezze |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Increased wildfire frequency and size has led to a surge in flammability research, most of which investigates landscape-level patterns and wildfire dynamics. There has been a recent shift towards organism-scale mechanisms that may drive these patterns, as more studies focus on flammability of plants themselves. Here, we examine methods developed to study tissue-level flammability, comparing a novel hot-plate-based method to existing methods identified in a literature review. Based on a survey of the literature, we find that the hot plate method has advantages over alternatives when looking at the specific niche of small-to-intermediate live fuel samples—a size range not addressed in most studies. In addition, we directly compare the hot plate method to the commonly used epiradiator design by simultaneously conducting flammability tests along a moisture gradient, established with a laboratory benchtop drydown. Our design comparison addresses two basic issues: (1) the relationship between hydration and flammability and (2) relationships between flammability metrics. We conclude that the hot plate method compares well to the epiradiator method, while allowing for testing of bigger samples. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:02:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-abb23557cef24bb3a130055babdfb7bf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-6255 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:02:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fire |
| spelling | doaj.art-abb23557cef24bb3a130055babdfb7bf2023-11-17T19:11:51ZengMDPI AGFire2571-62552023-04-016414910.3390/fire6040149Tissue-Level Flammability Testing: A Review of Existing Methods and a Comparison of a Novel Hot Plate Design to an Epiradiator DesignJoe V. Celebrezze0Indra Boving1Max A. Moritz2Earth Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 91336, USAEarth Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 91336, USAUniversity of California Cooperative Extension, Oakland, CA 94607, USAIncreased wildfire frequency and size has led to a surge in flammability research, most of which investigates landscape-level patterns and wildfire dynamics. There has been a recent shift towards organism-scale mechanisms that may drive these patterns, as more studies focus on flammability of plants themselves. Here, we examine methods developed to study tissue-level flammability, comparing a novel hot-plate-based method to existing methods identified in a literature review. Based on a survey of the literature, we find that the hot plate method has advantages over alternatives when looking at the specific niche of small-to-intermediate live fuel samples—a size range not addressed in most studies. In addition, we directly compare the hot plate method to the commonly used epiradiator design by simultaneously conducting flammability tests along a moisture gradient, established with a laboratory benchtop drydown. Our design comparison addresses two basic issues: (1) the relationship between hydration and flammability and (2) relationships between flammability metrics. We conclude that the hot plate method compares well to the epiradiator method, while allowing for testing of bigger samples.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/6/4/149pyro-ecophysiologyleaf flammabilityshoot flammabilityflammability methodologiesepiradiatorhot plate |
| spellingShingle | Joe V. Celebrezze Indra Boving Max A. Moritz Tissue-Level Flammability Testing: A Review of Existing Methods and a Comparison of a Novel Hot Plate Design to an Epiradiator Design Fire pyro-ecophysiology leaf flammability shoot flammability flammability methodologies epiradiator hot plate |
| title | Tissue-Level Flammability Testing: A Review of Existing Methods and a Comparison of a Novel Hot Plate Design to an Epiradiator Design |
| title_full | Tissue-Level Flammability Testing: A Review of Existing Methods and a Comparison of a Novel Hot Plate Design to an Epiradiator Design |
| title_fullStr | Tissue-Level Flammability Testing: A Review of Existing Methods and a Comparison of a Novel Hot Plate Design to an Epiradiator Design |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tissue-Level Flammability Testing: A Review of Existing Methods and a Comparison of a Novel Hot Plate Design to an Epiradiator Design |
| title_short | Tissue-Level Flammability Testing: A Review of Existing Methods and a Comparison of a Novel Hot Plate Design to an Epiradiator Design |
| title_sort | tissue level flammability testing a review of existing methods and a comparison of a novel hot plate design to an epiradiator design |
| topic | pyro-ecophysiology leaf flammability shoot flammability flammability methodologies epiradiator hot plate |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/6/4/149 |
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