Zhang Yan, Deng Xiangwen, He Xiaoyong, Zhang Xiaolong, Huang Zhihong, Chen Liang, Ouyang Shuai, Xiang Wenhua
College of Life and Environmental Sciences Central South University of Forestry and Technology Changsha Hunan Province China.
Huitong National Field Station for Scientific Observation and Research of Chinese Fir Plantation Ecosystem in Hunan Province Huitong China.
Ecol Evol. 2025 May 13;15(5):e71343. doi: 10.1002/ece3.71343. eCollection 2025 May.
The accurate classification of forest fuels and the evaluation of the flammability of different forest types are crucial for effective forest fire control and classification management. We aimed to evaluate and classify the flammability of surface forest fuels in the subtropical area of China. The surface forest fuels were collected from 12 typical forest types. The flammability of surface forest fuels was assessed by evaluating their drying time, fuel moisture, ignition point, calorific value, combustion duration, and ash content. The principal component analysis (PCA), entropy weight method, k-means clustering algorithm, and Pearson correlation coefficient method were employed for the classification of forest fuels and the evaluation of forest flammability. The results revealed that the flammability of surface living fuels across diverse plant families was significantly different. Rutaceae and Cucurbitaceae plants exhibited relatively high flammability, while Arecaceae plants demonstrated characteristics of low flammability. The surface fuels could be categorized into high, moderate, and low flammability. The high flammability fuels mainly consisted of plant leaves and litter components. The forest humus belongs to the low flammability. The forest flammability was classified into three categories according to the ignition forest fire risk index (IRI) and the burning intensity & severity index (BSI). The highest flammability forest types were EPF: pure forest, BMF: broad-leaved mixed forest, CPF: (Lamb.) Hook pure forest, and CBF: coniferous broad-leaved mixed forest. The lowest flammability was in FPF: Hance pure forest, an optimal forest type with a neatly structured environment, few understory weeds, and less dead fuel loading of only 4.32 tons per hectare. The flammability index method presented in this study contains the key elements of flammability, provides a standardized tool for fire managers to assess and mitigate fire risk, and it also applies to other regions.
准确分类森林燃料并评估不同森林类型的易燃性对于有效的森林火灾控制和分类管理至关重要。我们旨在评估和分类中国亚热带地区地表森林燃料的易燃性。地表森林燃料取自12种典型森林类型。通过评估其干燥时间、燃料湿度、着火点、热值、燃烧持续时间和灰分含量来评估地表森林燃料的易燃性。采用主成分分析（PCA）、熵权法、k均值聚类算法和皮尔逊相关系数法对森林燃料进行分类并评估森林易燃性。结果表明，不同植物科的地表活燃料的易燃性存在显著差异。芸香科和葫芦科植物表现出相对较高的易燃性，而棕榈科植物表现出低易燃性特征。地表燃料可分为高、中、低易燃性。高易燃性燃料主要由植物叶片和凋落物成分组成。森林腐殖质属于低易燃性。根据着火森林火灾风险指数（IRI）和燃烧强度与严重程度指数（BSI），森林易燃性分为三类。易燃性最高的森林类型是EPF：纯林、BMF：阔叶混交林、CPF：（Lamb.）Hook纯林和CBF：针阔混交林。易燃性最低的是FPF：Hance纯林，这是一种环境结构整齐、林下杂草少、死燃料载量仅为每公顷4.32吨的优质森林类型。本研究提出的易燃性指数方法包含了易燃性的关键要素，为火灾管理者评估和降低火灾风险提供了标准化工具，并且也适用于其他地区。
