Fire Management in Tropical Forests

Abstract

The chapter “Fire Management” of the Tropical Forest Management Handbook provides an introduction to the history and ecology of fires in ecosystems of the tropics (closed evergreen forests; closed and open seasonal forests; fire-climax pine forests in the tropical submontane and montane altitudes, subtropical lowlands; savannas and open woodlands; planted forests). In addition the chapter provides references to other environmental impacts of tropical fires, notably the global impacts of fire emissions on atmosphere and climate. The main part of the chapter provides different fire management options. Fire prevention methods include technical measures such as fuel management (treatment of combustible materials for fire hazard reduction) and the use of prescribed fire. The involvement of local communities in active fire prevention, the sound and safe use of fire in land management, and the defense of rural assets against wildfires are essential. References are given on fire management on contaminated terrain. The section on fire suppression (firefighting) provides access to the most important guidelines and technical training manuals. The need of developing national fire management policies that address the fire problems at landscape level including cross-sectoral/interagency approaches in fire management is underscored. The complexity of interactions between land use and other human activities, tropical vegetation characteristics, climate, and climate change may require expert assistance in capacity building in fire management at national and local level. International networks and voluntary mechanisms are available for exchange of knowledge and expertise.

Appendix: Wildland Fire Management Terminology

Most of the wildland fire management terms defined in the following are taken from the United Nations Wildland Fire Management Terminology (FAO 1986).

Aerial fuels	The standing and supported forest combustibles not in direct contact with the ground and consisting mainly of foliage, twigs, branches, stems, bark, and vines
Backfire	A fire set along the inner edge of a control line to consume the fuel in the path of a forest fire and/or change the direction of force of the fire's convection column. Note: Doing this on a small scale and with closer control, in order to consume patches of unburned fuel and aid control-line construction (as in mopping-up), is distinguished as burning out = firing out, clean burning
Broadcast burning	Allowing a prescribed fire to burn over a designated area within well-defined boundaries for reduction of fuel hazard, as a silvicultural treatment, or both
Bump-up method	(= move up, step up, functional) A progressive system of building a fire line on a wildfire without changing relative positions in the line. Work is begun with a suitable space between workers such as 5 m. Whenever one worker overtakes another, all of those ahead move one space forward and resume work on the uncompleted part of the line. The last worker does not move ahead until the work is complete in his space. Forward progress of the crew is coordinated by a crew leader
Center firing	A method of broadcast burning in which fires are set in the center of the area to create a strong draft; additional fires are then set progressively nearer the outer control lines as indraft builds up so as to draw them in toward the center
Control a fire	To complete a control line around a fire, any spot fires there from, and any interior islands to be saved; the control lines; and cooldown all hot spots that are immediate threats to the control line, until the line can reasonably be expected to hold under foreseeable conditions
Counter fire	Fire set between main fire and backfire to hasten spread of backfire. Also called draft fire. The act of setting counter fires is sometimes called front firing or strip firing. In European forestry synonymous with backfire
Crown fire	A fire that advances from top to top of trees or shrubs more or less independently of the surface fire. Sometimes crown fires are classed as either running or dependent, to distinguish the degree of independence from the surface fire
Drip torch	A hand-held apparatus for igniting prescribed fires by dripping flaming fuel on the materials to be burned. The device consists of a fuel fount, burner arm, and igniter. The fuel used is generally diesel or stove oil with gasoline added
Early burning	Prescribed burning early in the dry season before the leaves and undergrowth are completely dry or before the leaves are shed, as an insurance against more severe fire damage later on
Firebreak	Any natural or constructed discontinuity in a fuel bed utilized to segregate, stop, and control the spread of fire or to provide a control line from which to suppress a fire
Fire danger rating	A fire management system that integrated the effects of selected fire danger factors into one or more qualitative or numerical indices of current protection needs
Fire hazard	A fuel complex, defined by volume, type condition, arrangement, and location, that determines the degree both of ease of ignition and of fire suppression difficulty
Fire management	All activities required for the protection of burnable forest values from fire and the use of fire to meet land management goals and objectives
Fire retardant	Any substance except plain water that by chemical or physical action reduces the flammability of fuels or slows their rate of combustion, e.g., a liquid or slurry applied aerially or from the ground during a fire suppression operation
Forest residue	The accumulation in the forest of living or dead mostly woody material that is added to and rearranged by human activities such as forest harvest, cultural operations, and land clearing
Fuelbreak	Generally wide (20–300 m) strips of land on which the native vegetation has been permanently modified so that fires burning into them can be more readily controlled. Some fuelbreaks contain narrow firebreaks which may be roads or narrower hand-constructed lines. During fires, these firebreaks can quickly be widened either with hand tools or by firing out. Fuelbreaks have the advantages of preventing erosion, offering a safe place for firefighters to work, low maintenance, and a pleasing appearance
Ladder fuels	Fuels which provide vertical continuity between strata. Fire is able to carry from surface fuels into the crowns of trees or shrubs with relative ease and help assure initiation and continuation of crowning
Mass fire	A fire resulting from many simultaneous ignitions that generate a high level of energy output
Mopping up	(= Mop up) making a fire safe after it has been controlled, by extinguishing or removing burning material along or near the control line, felling snags, trenching logs to prevent rolling, etc.
One lick method	A progressive system of building a fire line on a wildfire without changing relative positions in the line. Each worker does one to several “licks,” or specified distance to make room for the worker behind
Preattack planning	Within designated blocks of land, planning the locations of fire lines, base camps, water supply, sources, helispots, etc.; planning transportation systems, probable rates of travel, and constraints of travel on various types of attack units; and determining construct particular fire lines, their probable rate of line construction, topographic constraints on line construction, etc.
Prescribed burning	Controlled application of fire to wildland fuels in either their natural or modified state, under specified environmental conditions which allow the fire to be confined to a predetermined area and at the same time to produce the intensity of heat and rate of spread required to attain planned resource management objectives
Prescribed fire	A fire burning within prescription. The fire may result from either planned or unplanned ignitions
Shaded fuelbreak	Fuelbreaks built in timbered areas where the trees on the break are thinned and pruned to reduce the fire potential yet retain enough crown canopy to make a less favorable microclimate for surface fires
Smoke management	The application of knowledge of fire behavior and meteorological processes to minimize air quality degradation during prescribed fires
Surface fire	Fire that burns only surface litter, other loose debris of the forest floor, and small vegetation
Values at risk	Any or all of the natural resources or improvements which may be jeopardized if a fire occurs
Wildfire	Any fire occurring on wildland except a fire under prescription
Wildland/residential interface	That line, area, or zone where structures and other human development meets or intermingles with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels