Planning a prescribed burn at Tectonagrandis Linn F. plantation

During the last decades, the frequency and severity of forest fires in the tropical region and in other parts of the world, have increased. The accumulation of forest fuel on the forest floor over the years dramatically increases the risk of fire. One of the alternatives to reduce this risk or the potential for damages is to reduce the amount of forest fuel using prescribed burns. This work had the objective of planning a prescribed burning at a Tectonagrandis plantation in Jipijapa, Manabí, Ecuador. The amount of woody dead fuel was determined using the planar intersections method. The amount of miscellaneous and green fuels was evaluated by collecting the material in boxes of 30 x 30 cm and in a plot of 1 m2, respectively, placing samples in stoves to remove moisture. Fire behavior was estimated by calculating parameters such as fire intensity, flame length and lethal scorch height. The total amount of forest fuel estimated was 11.17 t ha-1. The prescriptions obtained for the optimal intervals of the fire behavior parameters presented values of fire intensity between 16.43 and 33.89 kcal m-1 s-1; flame length between 0.54 and 0.76 m and lethal scorch height between 1.38 and 4.20 m. These values sufficiently argue the application of fire in the stand of T. grandis without danger to the trees