WILDFIRE RISK ASSESSMENT: FUEL LOADING IN CONIFEROUS PLANTATIONS ON DARTMOOR

Fuel loading was sampled in plantations of Picea sitchensis, Larix kaempferi and mixed conifers around Burrator Reservoir, Dartmoor. A combination of destructive sampling, estimation, allometric methods and line-intersect sampling was used to quantify all fuel components. Statistically significant differences were found between fuel loadings among P. sitchensis and L. kaempferi, for both total fuel loading and the fuel components which control the ignition and propagation of wildfire. It is inferred that plantations of P. sitchensis pose the greater risk of fire occurring, and of become severe once started; and that they also present the greater risk of a fire-related water pollution incident. The applicability to British plantations of fuel assessment methods developed overseas is discussed. It is proposed that existing methods employed in other countries have value for understanding wildfire risk in the UK environment, but that the different species compositions of British forests and plantations make their application here especially complicated.Faculty of Scienc