BURNING CHARACTERISTICS OF WESTERN CONIFER NEEDLES

The needles from thirteen species of western conifers were burned to c ompare flammability of nonwoody fuels. The following burning character istics were measured in a completely randomized design ANOVA: maximum flame height, flame time, ember time, burn time, percent combusted, an d mean rate of weight loss. The burning characteristics tested in this study address important aspects of nonwoody fuel flammability in coni ferous forests. Ponderosa pine. Jeffrey pine, Monterey pine, coast red wood, knobcone pine, giant sequoia, and sugar pine ranked in the upper half of most of the burn categories. These highly flammable species a re prominent in communities for which fire return intervals are two to four decades. Lodgepole pine, western redcedar, Douglas-fir, Pacific silver fir, subalpine fir and western hemlock seldom ranked in the upp er half of any of the burn categories. The needles of these species ar e less flammable than the upper group of seven. The fire return interv als for the communities in which they grow are commonly two or more ce nturies.