Dwi M. J. Purnomo, Eirik G. Christensen, Nieves Fernandez-Anez, Guillermo Rein
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Smouldering peatland wildfires can last for months and create a positive feedback for climate change. These flameless, slow-burning fires spread horizontally and vertically and are strongly influenced by peat moisture content. Most models neglect the non-uniform nature of peat moisture.
Aims
We conducted a computational study into the spread behaviour of smouldering peat with horizontally varying moisture contents.
Methods
We developed a discrete cellular automaton model called BARA, and calibrated it against laboratory experiments.
Key results
BARA demonstrated high accuracy in predicting fire spread under non-uniform moisture conditions, with >80% similarity between observed and predicted shapes, and captured complex phenomena. BARA simulated 1 h of peat smouldering in 3 min, showing its potential for field-scale modelling.
Conclusion
Our findings demonstrate: (i) the critical role of moisture distribution in determining smouldering behaviour; (ii) incorporating peat moisture distribution into BARA’s simple rules achieved reliable predictions of smouldering spread; (iii) given its high accuracy and low computational requirement, BARA can be upscaled to field applications.
Implications
BARA contributes to our understanding of peatland wildfires and their underlying drivers. BARA could form part of an early fire warning system for peatland.
期刊介绍:
International Journal of Wildland Fire publishes new and significant articles that advance basic and applied research concerning wildland fire. Published papers aim to assist in the understanding of the basic principles of fire as a process, its ecological impact at the stand level and the landscape level, modelling fire and its effects, as well as presenting information on how to effectively and efficiently manage fire. The journal has an international perspective, since wildland fire plays a major social, economic and ecological role around the globe.
The International Journal of Wildland Fire is published on behalf of the International Association of Wildland Fire.