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Leaf Thermal and Chemical Properties as Natural Drivers of Plant Flammability of Native and Exotic Tree Species of the Valparaíso Region, Chile

Forest fires are one of the main environmental threats in Chile. Fires in this Mediterranean climate region frequently affect native forests and exotic plantations, including in several cases urban and rural settlements. Considering the scarcity of information regarding the fire response dynamics of...

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Autores principales: Guerrero, Fabián, Hernández, Carla, Toledo, Mario, Espinoza, Lorena, Carrasco, Yulian, Arriagada, Andrés, Muñoz, Ariel, Taborga, Lautaro, Bergmann, Jan, Carmona, Camilo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8297029/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34281128
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137191
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author Guerrero, Fabián
Hernández, Carla
Toledo, Mario
Espinoza, Lorena
Carrasco, Yulian
Arriagada, Andrés
Muñoz, Ariel
Taborga, Lautaro
Bergmann, Jan
Carmona, Camilo
author_facet Guerrero, Fabián
Hernández, Carla
Toledo, Mario
Espinoza, Lorena
Carrasco, Yulian
Arriagada, Andrés
Muñoz, Ariel
Taborga, Lautaro
Bergmann, Jan
Carmona, Camilo
author_sort Guerrero, Fabián
collection PubMed
description Forest fires are one of the main environmental threats in Chile. Fires in this Mediterranean climate region frequently affect native forests and exotic plantations, including in several cases urban and rural settlements. Considering the scarcity of information regarding the fire response dynamics of tree species that are frequently affected by fires, this study aims to establish a flammability classification according to the evolution of the fire initiation risk presented by the most affected forest species in the Valparaíso region. Three exotic species, Eucalyptus globulus, Pinus radiata, and Acacia dealbata, and two native species, Cryptocarya alba and Quillaja saponaria, were studied. Flammability assays indicate that E. globulus, A. dealbata, and C. alba are extremely flammable, whereas P. radiata and Q. saponaria are flammable. Furthermore, E. globulus and A. dealbata have the highest heating values while Q. saponaria has the lowest values. The extreme flammability of E. globulus, A. dealbata, and C. alba indicates a high susceptibility to ignite. Furthermore, the high heat of combustion of E. globulus and A. dealbata can be associated with a high energy release, increasing the risk of fires spreading. In contrast, Q. saponaria has the lowest predisposition to ignite and capacity to release heat. Accordingly, this work shows that all studied tree species contain organic metabolites that are potentially flammable (sesquiterpenes, aliphatic hydrocarbons, alcohol esters, ketones, diterpenes, and triterpenes) and can be considered as drivers of flammability in vegetation. Finally, these preliminary results will aid in the construction of more resilient landscapes in the near future.
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spelling pubmed-82970292021-07-23 Leaf Thermal and Chemical Properties as Natural Drivers of Plant Flammability of Native and Exotic Tree Species of the Valparaíso Region, Chile Guerrero, Fabián Hernández, Carla Toledo, Mario Espinoza, Lorena Carrasco, Yulian Arriagada, Andrés Muñoz, Ariel Taborga, Lautaro Bergmann, Jan Carmona, Camilo Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Forest fires are one of the main environmental threats in Chile. Fires in this Mediterranean climate region frequently affect native forests and exotic plantations, including in several cases urban and rural settlements. Considering the scarcity of information regarding the fire response dynamics of tree species that are frequently affected by fires, this study aims to establish a flammability classification according to the evolution of the fire initiation risk presented by the most affected forest species in the Valparaíso region. Three exotic species, Eucalyptus globulus, Pinus radiata, and Acacia dealbata, and two native species, Cryptocarya alba and Quillaja saponaria, were studied. Flammability assays indicate that E. globulus, A. dealbata, and C. alba are extremely flammable, whereas P. radiata and Q. saponaria are flammable. Furthermore, E. globulus and A. dealbata have the highest heating values while Q. saponaria has the lowest values. The extreme flammability of E. globulus, A. dealbata, and C. alba indicates a high susceptibility to ignite. Furthermore, the high heat of combustion of E. globulus and A. dealbata can be associated with a high energy release, increasing the risk of fires spreading. In contrast, Q. saponaria has the lowest predisposition to ignite and capacity to release heat. Accordingly, this work shows that all studied tree species contain organic metabolites that are potentially flammable (sesquiterpenes, aliphatic hydrocarbons, alcohol esters, ketones, diterpenes, and triterpenes) and can be considered as drivers of flammability in vegetation. Finally, these preliminary results will aid in the construction of more resilient landscapes in the near future. MDPI 2021-07-05 /pmc/articles/PMC8297029/ /pubmed/34281128 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137191 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Guerrero, Fabián
Hernández, Carla
Toledo, Mario
Espinoza, Lorena
Carrasco, Yulian
Arriagada, Andrés
Muñoz, Ariel
Taborga, Lautaro
Bergmann, Jan
Carmona, Camilo
Leaf Thermal and Chemical Properties as Natural Drivers of Plant Flammability of Native and Exotic Tree Species of the Valparaíso Region, Chile
title Leaf Thermal and Chemical Properties as Natural Drivers of Plant Flammability of Native and Exotic Tree Species of the Valparaíso Region, Chile
title_full Leaf Thermal and Chemical Properties as Natural Drivers of Plant Flammability of Native and Exotic Tree Species of the Valparaíso Region, Chile
title_fullStr Leaf Thermal and Chemical Properties as Natural Drivers of Plant Flammability of Native and Exotic Tree Species of the Valparaíso Region, Chile
title_full_unstemmed Leaf Thermal and Chemical Properties as Natural Drivers of Plant Flammability of Native and Exotic Tree Species of the Valparaíso Region, Chile
title_short Leaf Thermal and Chemical Properties as Natural Drivers of Plant Flammability of Native and Exotic Tree Species of the Valparaíso Region, Chile
title_sort leaf thermal and chemical properties as natural drivers of plant flammability of native and exotic tree species of the valparaíso region, chile
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8297029/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34281128
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137191
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