Current Status and Prospects of Plant Flammability Measurements

Abstract

In recent years, the frequency of wildfires worldwide has been gradually increasing, posing significant threats to global ecosystems and human society. Given that plants serve as the primary fuel in natural environments, accurately assessing the flammability of plants is crucial for wildfire management and fire ecology studies. Plant flammability is a multifaceted trait influenced by various physiological, physical, and chemical characteristics of plants. Currently, there is no universally accepted standard for quantifying plant flammability. By analyzing published research over the past few decades, this study found that 17.27% of studies assessed plant flammability by measuring flammability-related characteristics, such as moisture content, leaf size, bark thickness, oil content, and terpene content; a total of 34.55% of studies assessed plant flammability through burning experiments by measuring burning parameters, such as ignition time, duration of combustion, and flame spread rate. The remaining studies, approximately 50%, used a combination of burning experiments and flammability-related characteristic measurement to assess plant flammability. This study outlined the current status of plant flammability measurements, discussed the merits of each measurement method, and proposed suggestions for enhancing the assessment of plant flammability, with the aim of contributing to the standardization of plant flammability measurements.