Maria Cecilia Arienti
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Maria Cecilia Arienti, MSc
Defended 09/06
Fire is the predominant natural disturbance in the Boreal Mixedwood Forest of western Canada. Currently, Alberta's boreal forests are being rapidly transformed by forest and the oil and gas industries, whose joint activities result in the creation of a dense network of linear features (roads, pipelines and seismic lines). These new features may alter fire behaviour in several ways. Linear features regenerate poorly over time thereby contributing to forest fragmentation, which can constrain fire propagation. On the contrary, grasses growing on some of these lines can enhance fire spread. On the other hand, this new access network may facilitate fire fighting activities.
The first objective of her study is to quantify the effect of linear features on the number of lighting fire ignitions. The study uses current fires (1995-2003) that ignited within a » 67,000-km 2 rectangle contained within the AlPac's FMA in north-eastern Alberta. Her results show that more fires start close to roads. The second objective is to quantify the effect of linear features on the probability of a fire escaping initial suppression actions. Her results show that linear features and vegetation do not affect the probability that a fire will be successfully contained by fire fighters. The main factors that affect said probability are weather, as a proxy for fire intensity, and the size of the fire when suppression actions start. In addition, vegetation and weather determine fire size before any suppression actions are attempted.
Contact
Maria Cecilia Arienti, MSc
Biological Sciences Building
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
T6G 2E9 - Canada
Room Z1017
phone: (780) 492-8449
E-mail: marienti@ualberta.ca
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Last Modified:2008-12-05 |