Prescribed Burning near SMEAR II spring early summer

Prescribed Burning near SMEAR II spring / early summer 2009 §Prescribed burning §Burning plan §Pre-measurements §Measurements during the burning §Post-fire measurements Janne Levula, SMEAR II, Division of the Atmospheric Sciences

Prescribed Burning §After the clear-cut of spruce dominated forest §Merchantable stem wood is harvested and taken away §Slash (needles, branches and crown tops) is left on the site §In addition to the slash, also the surface vegetation, litter-layer and uppermost part of the humus-layer burns Janne Levula, SMEAR II, Division of the Atmospheric Sciences

Prescribed Burning §In Finland there is very seldom such conditions that living tree crowns burn during the forest fire – crowns are moist, and there is not enough fire-load in the ground §The amount of burnt biomass is greater in the prescribed burning than in the forest fire Janne Levula, SMEAR II, Division of the Atmospheric Sciences

Prescribed Burning §Dry conditions needed – there must be forestfire warning in force §Wind less than 3 -4 m second §Southerly wind to direct burning gases to the SMEAR II §Slowly proceeding ignition starting under the wind to both directions Janne Levula, SMEAR II, Division of the Atmospheric Sciences

Wind direction Starting point Janne Levula, SMEAR II, Division of the Atmospheric Sciences

Janne Levula, SMEAR II, Division of the Atmospheric Sciences

Burning plan §See the map § 11 th May to 17 th June, 2009 §Burning itself takes only one afternoon §More information: http: //wiki. helsinki. fi/display/SMEAR/Prescribed+Burning Janne Levula, SMEAR II, Division of the Atmospheric Sciences

Pre measurements §All the measurements at the SMEAR II §Biomass: trees, surface vegetation §Mass of the litter-layer and humus-layer §Greenhouse-gas fluxes from the soil §Properties of the humus §Soil moisture and temperature §Aerosol signal strength from the similar burning with portable CPCs in the early summer 2008 Janne Levula, SMEAR II, Division of the Atmospheric Sciences

Measurements during the burning §All the measurements at the SMEAR II §Aerosol measurements from the airplane, and possibly also from the ultra-light plane §Aerosol measurements with movable equipment from the ground level §Surface temperatures §Fire intensity §? ? ? Janne Levula, SMEAR II, Division of the Atmospheric Sciences

Post-fire measurements §All the measurements at the SMEAR II §Mass of the litter-layer and humus-layer §Greenhouse-gas fluxes from the soil §Properties of the humus §Soil moisture and temperature Janne Levula, SMEAR II, Division of the Atmospheric Sciences