Estimation of Fuel Loading

Currently, two methods for inventorying fuel loadings at a site exist. Direct measurement and photo series estimation. (Brown et al. 1982) describes comprehensive procedures for the inventory of downed woody material, forest floor litter and duff, herbaceous vegetation, shrubs, and small conifers. Field sampling methods include counting and measuring diameters of downed woody pieces that intersect vertical sampling planes, comparing quantities of litter and herbaceous vegetation against standard plots that are clipped and weighed, tallying shrub stems by basal diameter classes, tallying conifers by height classes, and measuring duff depth.

An alternate method for assessing fuel loadings is via photo series. A photo series can be used to obtain an estimate of fuels for a given area. The stand of interest is compared to pictures of similar stands in which fuel inventories have been conducted. Precision is intermediate when compared to other methods for obtaining fuels information, however this is the most expedient of the two methods. Photo series show more accuracy when assessing fire potential than for estimating fuel loads (Fischer 1981).