Effect of forest floor fuel moisture content on chemical components of PM2.5 emitted during combustion

The moisture content of forest floor fuels changes continuously with the influence of environmental factors; thus it has an important impact on the concentration and chemical composition of particulate matter emitted during forest fire. However, most previous studies quantify emissions of particulate matter and constituents using dry samples. In this study, we use a self-designed semi closed combustion simulator to quantify emission of total carbon (TC), organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) and water-soluble ions in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) using fuels of four tree species that differ in moisture content (0, 10, 20 and 30%). The results showed that the emissions of TC, OC and EC and total water-soluble inorganic ions increased significantly (<0.05) with increasing moisture content of fuels, and fuels of coniferous species emitted significantly more pollutants than fuels of broadleaved species. Similarly combustion of leaf samples emitted more carbonaceous components and water-soluble ions than combustion of branches. K+, NH4+ and Cl- were the main components of water-soluble ionic species, and emissions of K+, Ca2+, Na+, Mg2+, NH4+, Cl-, Br-, NO3-, NO2-, SO42- increased with increasing moisture content of fuels. Fuel moisture content had a great impact on the inorganic salt composition in the particulate matter emitted during combustion. The findings have an important implication on the use of prescribed early fire as management tools as the moisture content of the fuels early during the dry season is still high. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The moisture content of forest floor fuels has a significant impact on the emissions of pollutants and water-soluble ions during forest fires. Coniferous species emit more pollutants than broadleaved species, and the combustion of leaf samples emits more carbonaceous components and water-soluble ions than branches. Fuel moisture content affects the inorganic salt composition in the emitted particulate matter.