Fuel characteristics of selected plant species regrow on burn area in Raja Musa Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia

Tropical peat swamp forest is an important ecosystem that functions to restore balance in the hydrological process, habitat for flora and fauna as well as cater the needs for human livelihood. The forest however is threatened by many factors which lead to forest fire. There are many studies conducte...

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Main Author:	Ulok, Gerald
Format:	Thesis
Language:	English
Published:	2015
Subjects:	Biomass Growth (Plants) Forest management
Online Access:	http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/66650/1/FH%202015%209%20IR.pdf
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spelling	my-upm-ir.666502019-01-29T07:00:42Z Fuel characteristics of selected plant species regrow on burn area in Raja Musa Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia 2015-04 Ulok, Gerald Tropical peat swamp forest is an important ecosystem that functions to restore balance in the hydrological process, habitat for flora and fauna as well as cater the needs for human livelihood. The forest however is threatened by many factors which lead to forest fire. There are many studies conducted to understand better the ecological balance, economic benefits, and impact of peat degradation of the forest but little is known on the species flammability which eventually provides information for forest fire risk management in tropical peat swamp forest. The aim of the study was to estimate the flammability index (FI) o the dominant plant species that were found in burnt area in Raja Musa Forest Reserve based on the its characteristics and flammability of species. The study site was located in Raja Musa Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia where the forest suffered severe wildfire few years back and currently progressively rehabilitated. The fuel characteristics analyzed were moisture content, calorific value, chemical composition and thermal stability. 8 species were commonly found in the study plot and they were pioneer species of the burned area which were Scleria sumatrensis, Imperata cylindrica, Melicope latifolia, Melastoma malabathricum, Macaranga pruinosa, Lyodium flexuosum, Nephrolepis biserrata, and Uncaria tomentosa. The result shows that I.cylindica has highest ranking rate of spread and ash content. S.sumatrensis is high in coverage percentage and cellulose content while L.flexuosum is identified as goof fuel for combustion due to its low moisture content, ignition time and ignition temperature. U.tomentosa had the highest calorific value and extractive percentage amongst the analyzed species. The study found that the species flammability varies differently on its fuel characteristics basis. The flammability index exhibits that S.sumatrensis and L.flexuosum were indicated to be highly flammable and serve as good for combustion. The findings of this study provide insights of identifying the species which were highly combustible and resists fire. The fuel characteristics and flammability information were essential to recognize the significant fire threats from the species present in the area aside from peat, climatic and human causes. The evaluation, however, do not portrayed the whole Raja Musa Forest Reserve but only the affected burnt area. Biomass Growth (Plants) Forest management 2015-04 Thesis http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/66650/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/66650/1/FH%202015%209%20IR.pdf text en public masters Universiti Putra Malaysia Biomass Growth (Plants) Forest management
institution	Universiti Putra Malaysia
collection	PSAS Institutional Repository
language	English
topic	Biomass Growth (Plants) Forest management
spellingShingle	Biomass Growth (Plants) Forest management Ulok, Gerald Fuel characteristics of selected plant species regrow on burn area in Raja Musa Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia
description	Tropical peat swamp forest is an important ecosystem that functions to restore balance in the hydrological process, habitat for flora and fauna as well as cater the needs for human livelihood. The forest however is threatened by many factors which lead to forest fire. There are many studies conducted to understand better the ecological balance, economic benefits, and impact of peat degradation of the forest but little is known on the species flammability which eventually provides information for forest fire risk management in tropical peat swamp forest. The aim of the study was to estimate the flammability index (FI) o the dominant plant species that were found in burnt area in Raja Musa Forest Reserve based on the its characteristics and flammability of species. The study site was located in Raja Musa Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia where the forest suffered severe wildfire few years back and currently progressively rehabilitated. The fuel characteristics analyzed were moisture content, calorific value, chemical composition and thermal stability. 8 species were commonly found in the study plot and they were pioneer species of the burned area which were Scleria sumatrensis, Imperata cylindrica, Melicope latifolia, Melastoma malabathricum, Macaranga pruinosa, Lyodium flexuosum, Nephrolepis biserrata, and Uncaria tomentosa. The result shows that I.cylindica has highest ranking rate of spread and ash content. S.sumatrensis is high in coverage percentage and cellulose content while L.flexuosum is identified as goof fuel for combustion due to its low moisture content, ignition time and ignition temperature. U.tomentosa had the highest calorific value and extractive percentage amongst the analyzed species. The study found that the species flammability varies differently on its fuel characteristics basis. The flammability index exhibits that S.sumatrensis and L.flexuosum were indicated to be highly flammable and serve as good for combustion. The findings of this study provide insights of identifying the species which were highly combustible and resists fire. The fuel characteristics and flammability information were essential to recognize the significant fire threats from the species present in the area aside from peat, climatic and human causes. The evaluation, however, do not portrayed the whole Raja Musa Forest Reserve but only the affected burnt area.
format	Thesis
qualification_level	Master's degree
author	Ulok, Gerald
author_facet	Ulok, Gerald
author_sort	Ulok, Gerald
title	Fuel characteristics of selected plant species regrow on burn area in Raja Musa Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia
title_short	Fuel characteristics of selected plant species regrow on burn area in Raja Musa Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia
title_full	Fuel characteristics of selected plant species regrow on burn area in Raja Musa Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia
title_fullStr	Fuel characteristics of selected plant species regrow on burn area in Raja Musa Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed	Fuel characteristics of selected plant species regrow on burn area in Raja Musa Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia
title_sort	fuel characteristics of selected plant species regrow on burn area in raja musa forest reserve, selangor, malaysia
granting_institution	Universiti Putra Malaysia
publishDate	2015
url	http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/66650/1/FH%202015%209%20IR.pdf
_version_	1747812395419435008

Fuel characteristics of selected plant species regrow on burn area in Raja Musa Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia

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