Burning characteristics of circular fuel beds of four evergreen chaparral species

This data publication includes flame and mass loss data from chaparral fuels burned in circular pans. Chaparral fuels were collected from 2003-2005 in the North Mountain Experimental Area in California and included the following species: chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), hoaryleaf ceanothus (Ceanothus crassifolius), Eastwood manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa) and scrub oak (Quercus berberidifolia). Circular cribs composed of foliage and branches less than 0.625 centimeters in diameter were burned under still air conditions. Fuels were burned on the day collected, as well as after dried (2003-2005). Measurements include observed fire behavior such as mass loss rate, flame height, and temperature structure above the burning fuel bed.<br>The effects of physical characteristics of fuels and fuel beds on live fuel burning and whether live fuels differ fundamentally from dead woody fuels in their burning characteristics are not well understood. Toward this end, four common chaparral fuels prevalent in southern California, chamise, manzanita, ceanothus and scrub oak, were investigated by burning them in a cylindrical container.<br>For more information about this study and these data, see Sun et al. (2006) and Sun (2006).