Diversity effects on many aspects of ecosystem function have been well documented. However, fire is an exception: fire experiments have mainly included single species, bulk litter, or vegetation, and, as such, the role of diversity as a determinant of flammability, a crucial aspect of ecosystem function, is poorly understood. This study is the first to experimentally test whether flammability c...

1CSIRO Plant Industry, GPO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia 2School of Resources, Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT 0200, Australia 3Email: [email protected] 4Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University College, University of NSW, Campbell, ACT 2602, Australia 5Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre, Australia 6Snowy Mountains Region Fire ...

As a fundamental study relevant to micro-combustor application, the effects of mixture dilution on the lean extinction characteristics is studied for a stagnation-point flow system with a methane/air mixture over a platinum surface. For steady conditions, the level of flammability extension by surface reaction depends strongly on the mixture dilution, such that the benefit of catalyst-assisted ...

Increased wildfire frequency and size has led to a surge in flammability research, most of which investigates landscape-level patterns dynamics. There been recent shift towards organism-scale mechanisms that may drive these patterns, as more studies focus on plants themselves. Here, we examine methods developed study tissue-level flammability, comparing novel hot-plate-based method existing ide...

Background Mitigation of wildfires at the wildland–urban interface (WUI) will be enhanced by understanding flammability plants growing in this zone.Aims We aimed to: (1) compare shoot among wildland native, and both urban native exotic ornamental plants; (2) quantify relationships between traits flammability; (3) establish scores to distinguish low- from high-flammability species.Methods Flamma...

The working fluids most widely used for small and mid-sized air conditioning systems globally are R-410A and R22. While these fluids have many positive attributes for cooling and heating, they are the subject of valid criticisms regarding their high direct global warming potential (GWP) and, in the case of R-22, ozone depletion potential (ODP) also. In the interest of improved environmental sus...

Studies examining plant flammability descriptors as fire-adaptive traits (e.g. Schwilk, 2003; Scarff & Westoby, 2006; Cowan & Ackerly, 2010; Saura-Mas et al., 2010; Pausas et al., 2012) are normally formulated within the framework of inclusive fitness theory. In such a framework, flammability-enhancing traits are considered to favour individuals if the elevated flammability confers fitness bene...

The flammability and combustibility of plant communities are determined by species features related to growth-form, structure and physiology. In some ecosystems, such as the Mediterranean ones, these characteristics may contribute to the existence of fire-prone species. Moreover, different post-fire regenerative strategies may present different degrees of recovery, depending on the particular f...

Novel fire regimes are an important cause and consequence of global environmental change that involve interactions among biotic, climatic, and human components of ecosystems. Plant flammability is key to these interactions, yet few studies directly measure flammability or consider how multiple species with different flammabilities interact to produce novel fire regimes. Deserts of the southwest...