Combustion completeness in a rainforest clearing experiment in Manaus, Brazil

Abstract

cm. Their consumption rates by fire were measured. The 2x2 m 2 areas were used to determine the combustion completeness of smaller plant components (characteristic diameters lower than 10 cm) and the trunks to determine the efficiency of the medium and large components (characteristic diameters between 10 and 30 cm and larger than 30 cm, respectively). Combustion completeness for small, medium and large components were 88.2%, 4.39%, and 0.43%, respectively. On the basis of the biomass content (684.4 t ha'l), the average biomass moisture and carbon contents (41.6% and 47.8%, respectively, the latter on dry basis), and the obtained combustion completeness (20.5%), the average carbon, CO2 and CO mass rates released to the atmosphere were estimated to be 37.7, 121, and 8.6 t ha 'l, respectively.

Cropland expansion changes deforestation dynamics in the southern Brazilian Amazon

“…Carbon losses per area deforested for cropland are potentially greater than other types of forest conversion because of the rapid and complete removal of above-ground biomass and woody roots to permit tractor planting, with little or no net carbon offset from subsequent crop production. Unlike previous estimates of carbon losses during conversion of forest to pasture (3,21,40,41), decomposition may contribute very little to the total carbon lost during the conversion of forest to cropland, because trunks, stumps, and woody roots are completely combusted in multiple fire events during the clearing process. Stratifying land use after deforestation in terms of clearing size, biomass removal, and duration enables more accurate estimates of interannual variation in deforestation carbon fluxes from Amazonia than previously available.…”

Burning of Amazonian rainforests: burning efficiency and charcoal formation in forest cleared for cattle pasture near Manaus, Brazil

“…Burning ef®-ciency (percent of the pre-burn aboveground carbon stock released in the burn) depends strongly on the diameter of the material, smaller-diameter pieces burning more completely. While burning ef®ciency varies among burns, knowledge of the size composition of the material allows a substantial reduction of the uncertainty in predicting the amount of the total Carvalho et al (1995Carvalho et al ( , 1998 aboveground biomass consumed in a burn. The burning ef®ciency of 28.3% determined for the burn studied is in the range of values found for other burns estimated using the same method, but two other methods in use in Brazilian Amazonia have produced consistently different results, one higher and one lower than those obtained with the method used here.…”

The Tropical Forest and Fire Emissions Experiment: overview and airborne fire emission factor measurements

“…Yokelson et al: Tropical forest fire emissions loading averaging ∼300 Mg/ha of which ∼40% is consumed by the fires for a total fuel consumption of ∼120 Mg/ha. (Ward et al, 1992;Fearnside et al, 1993;Carvalho et al, 1998Carvalho et al, , 2001Guild et al, 1998).…”