Atmospheric emissions from vegetation fires in Portugal (1990–2008): estimates, uncertainty analysis, and sensitivity analysis

Rosa, Isabel M.D.; Pereira, José M. C.; Tarantola, Stefano

doi:10.5194/acp-11-2625-2011

Cited by 48 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Furthermore, our estimates of shrub biomass grown under tree canopy are in line with values reported by previous studies in Portugal, which do not exceed 24 Mg ha -1 (Fernandes & Rigolot 2007). Rosa et al (2011) indicates that shrublands in Portugal require 15 years to reach a steady-state aboveground biomass. Our results indicate that longer periods are needed when tree cover is present.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

“…Shrubland biomass accumulation in Portugal has been previously described by Rosa et al (2011), by fitting the model by Olson (1963) as a function of the time since wildfire occurrence. However, shrub growth and accumulation are also affected by other factors.…”

Section: Model Fitting and Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent study by Rosa et al (2011) to estimate pyrogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, aerosols and other trace gases from wildfires in Portugal identified shrub biomass as the variable with the greatest impact on the uncertainty inherent in such estimates. Therefore, it is essential to improve the assessment of forest biomass, including its spatial and temporal variation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A model of shrub biomass accumulation as a tool to support management of Portuguese forests

Botequim¹,

Zubizarreta-Gerendiain²,

García-Gonzalo³

et al. 2015

iForest

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© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionDuring the last decades, significant land use change took place in Portugal and elsewhere in the Mediterranean region. Many marginal agricultural or grazing lands were either abandoned or afforested. Natural succession led to changes in vegetation structure and composition where agricultural activities ceased, thus contributing to the expansion of shrubland, woodland and forests with a well-developed shrub understory (Fernán-dez Alés et al. 1992). These changes resulted in higher carbon stocks as well as in more flammable ecosystems prone to large and high-severity fires (Pausas 2004, Castro & Freitas 2009).Fuel dynamics refers to the structural and temporal modifications undergone by a fuel layer or fuel complex. Shrub accumulation models could assist in forecasting the dynamics of biomass and carbon storage. Many modeling of fuel dynamics follows the simple model by Olson (1963) that describes the relationship between production and decomposition as a modified exponential function that flattens out to a plateau. Other studies describe fuel and shrub dynamics by timedependent models of forest fire hazard (Gould et al. 2011). However, shrub biomass accumulation information for Mediterranean areas is very limited. Few studies addressed the temporal dynamics of shrub structure and/or biomass in shrublands (Baeza et al. 2006), which are expected to be different under a forest canopy, due to competition for resources (i.e., light, water). Hence, little attention has been given to understory vegetation, likely due to its limited economic importance. Nonetheless, the ecological significance of the understory is high, since it plays an important role on nutrient cycles, carbon storage and fire hazard.Currently available carbon models still lack details on biomass dynamics, which in turn affect the calculation of these processes. A recent study by Rosa et al. (2011) to estimate pyrogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, aerosols and other trace gases from wildfires in Portugal identified shrub biomass as the variable with the greatest impact on the uncertainty inherent in such estimates. Therefore, it is essential to improve the assessment of forest biomass, including its spatial and temporal variation.In the Mediterranean region, fire is one of the most important factors affecting forest ecosystems, both ecologically and economically (Pereira & Santos 2003). Higher shrub loading implies higher flammability, likelihood of crowning fire, and difficulty in fire control (Schmidt et al. 2002, Fernandes 2009a. Fernandes et al. (2004) observed differences in fire behavior and severity among maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) plots depending on fuel age (i.e., time since last treatment) and the presence or absence of surface fuel treatments. Furthermore, recent research aimed at developing wildfire occurrence models in Portugal included the understory shrubs biomass as a significant variable. Indeed, shrubs have a large impact on fire risk with obvious implications to forest plannin...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Model Fitting and Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A model of shrub biomass accumulation as a tool to support management of Portuguese forests

Botequim¹,

Zubizarreta-Gerendiain²,

García-Gonzalo³

et al. 2015

iForest

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“…Copernicus Gesellschaft mbH (Rosa et al, 2011). The duration of the PM 2.5 data is slightly shorter than that of PM 10 and no PM 2.5 data are available for China.…”

Section: Legal Bodymentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting trends of mass and optical properties of aerosols over the Northern Hemisphere from 1992 to 2011

Wang

Dickinson

et al. 2012

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. Atmospheric aerosols affect both human health and climate. PMX is the mass concentration of aerosol particles that have aerodynamic diameters less than X µm, PM 10 was initially selected to measure the environmental impact of aerosols. Recently, it was realized that fine particles are more hazardous than larger ones and should be measured. Consequently, observational data for PM 2.5 have been obtained but only for a much shorter period than that of PM 10 . Optical extinction of aerosols, the inverse of meteorological visibility, is sensitive to particles less than 1.0 µm. These fine particles only account for a small part of total mass of aerosols although they are very efficient in light extinction. Comparisons are made between PM 10 and PM 2.5 over the period when the latter is available and with visibility data for a longer period. PM 10 has decreased by 44 % in Europe from 1992 to 2009, 33 % in the US from 1993 to 2010, 10 % in Canada from 1994 to 2009, and 26 % in China from 2000 to 2011. However, in contrast, aerosol optical extinction has increased 7 % in the US, 10 % in Canada, and 18 % in China during the above study periods. The reduction of optical extinction over Europe of 5 % is also much less than the 44 % reduction in PM 10 . Over its short period of record PM 2.5 decreased less than PM 10 . Hence, PM 10 is neither a good measure of changes in smaller particles nor of their long-term trends, a result that has important implications for both climate impact and human health effects. The increased fraction of anthropogenic aerosol emission, such as from vehicle exhaust, to total atmospheric aerosols partly explains this contrasting trend of optical and mass properties of aerosols.

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“…It is difficult to estimate since it is influenced by vegetation characteristics such as age, phenology, and moisture content, but it also depends on fire behavior, such as fire line intensity, fire rate of spread, and flame residence time. The burning efficiencies are often estimated from fuel consumption measurements in prescribed or experimental fires (Rosa et al, 2011). In general, fine and dry fuels burn more completely than coarse and wet fuels (van der Werf et al, 2006).…”

Section: Fuel Load Consumedmentioning

confidence: 99%

APIFLAME v1.0: high-resolution fire emission model and application to the Euro-Mediterranean region

et al. 2014

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Abstract. This paper describes a new model for the calculation of daily, high-resolution (up to 1 km) fire emissions, developed in the framework of the APIFLAME (Analysis and Prediction of the Impact of Fires on Air quality ModEling) project. The methodology relies on the classical approach, multiplying the burned area by the fuel load consumed and the emission factors specific to the vegetation burned. Emissions can be calculated on any user-specified domain, horizontal grid, and list of trace gases and aerosols, providing input information on the burned area (location, extent), and emission factors of the targeted species are available. The applicability to high spatial resolutions and the flexibility to different input data (including vegetation classifications) and domains are the main strength of the proposed algorithm. The modification of the default values and databases proposed does not require any change in the core of the model.The code may be used for the calculation of global or regional inventories. However, it has been developed and tested more specifically for Europe and the Mediterranean area. A regional analysis of fire activity and the resulting emissions in this region is provided. The burning season extends from June to October in most regions, with generally small but frequent fires in eastern Europe, western Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, and large events in the Mediterranean area. The resulting emissions represent a significant fraction of the total yearly emissions (on average amounting to ∼ 30 % of anthropogenic emissions for PM 2.5 , ∼ 20 % for CO). The uncertainty regarding the daily carbon emissions is estimated at ∼ 100 % based on an ensemble analysis. Considering the large uncertainties regarding emission factors, the potential error on the emissions for the various pollutants is even larger. Comparisons with other widely used emission inventories show good correlations but discrepancies of a factor of 2-4 in the amplitude of the emissions, our results being generally on the higher end.

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Atmospheric emissions from vegetation fires in Portugal (1990–2008): estimates, uncertainty analysis, and sensitivity analysis

Cited by 48 publications

References 52 publications

A model of shrub biomass accumulation as a tool to support management of Portuguese forests

A model of shrub biomass accumulation as a tool to support management of Portuguese forests

Contrasting trends of mass and optical properties of aerosols over the Northern Hemisphere from 1992 to 2011

APIFLAME v1.0: high-resolution fire emission model and application to the Euro-Mediterranean region

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