Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Since the '80s, a number of large projects dealing with biomass burning experiments
and EFs have been coordinated in different ecosystems (Andreae and Merlet
2001
).
Most of these integrated projects focused on rainforest and savannas in Africa (e.g.
Lacaux et al.
1995
; Hao et al.
1996
; Delmas et al.
1999
; Swap et al.
2003
) and Brazil
(e.g. Crutzen et al.
1985
; Kaufman et al.
1998
; Yokelson et al.
2007
). The mentioned
field campaigns provided highly scattered information through the literature (Andreae
and Merlet
2001
); due to the different adopted methods of EF measurements, these
data also present a large variability. In 2001, Andreae and Merlet reviewed and sum-
marised EFs for a broad number of chemical species and for various types of biomass
burning, such as savanna and grassland, tropical forest, extra-tropical forest.
Except for very few studies, there is a lack of available emission data from
boreal zone and temperate forest, despite the importance of fire in these areas
(Koppmann et al.
2005
; Urbanski et al.
2009
). Recently, Urbansky et al. (
2009
)
compiled EF data for five broad vegetation cover types, considering temperate for-
est too. EF data from this ecosystem type mostly derived from experimental and
prescribed fires in the United States and Canada, typically ignited under favorable
weather and fuel conditions in order to manage low intensity fires.
In Mediterranean areas, Miranda et al. (
2005b
) collected data of emission from
shrubland experimental fires in the framework of the SPREAD project (Forest Fire
Spread Prevention and Mitigation 2002-2005 founded by EGVI-2001-00027).
More recently, Alves et al. (
2010
,
2011
) detailed particle and trace gas EF for pre-
scribed fires in Mediterranean shrubland and wildfires of the 2009 summer season,
respectively. Fig.
6.1
compares several shrubland EFs for PM
2.5
, CO, CO
2
, CH
4
.
−
1
). Data derived from literature
Fig. 6.1
Comparison among shrubland emission factors (g kg
