0023-6152

AA00697606

26155

査読無

0023-6152

AA00697606

Moisture content of woody fuel is an important indicator of fire risk, and thus can be effectively used for fire management. Most forest fires in Korea occur during spring in Korea, when low fuel moisture condition is combined with strong westerly dry Foehn wind. To better understand the fuel moisture dynamics during this season, we developed a fuel moisture prediction model for a deciduous forest stand in Yeongdong region in Korea to predict the moisture content of aboveground woody fuel after significant precipitation events (>5.0mm). The model was based on changes in moisture content of woody debris for several fuel size classes based on their diameter (<0.6cm, 0.6–3.0cm, 3.0–6.0cm, and >6.0cm), measured in the spring of 2008. Results indicate that fuel moisture content dropped more rapidly in smaller fuels (time until high fire risk moisture level reached after 3 days since precipitation event for fuel size class <0.6cm, and 6 days for 0.6–3.0cm) and in stands with lower canopy cover. Our model showed reasonable performance in representing the changes in fuel change, and was successfully validated against 2009 data.