TY - JOUR
T1 - Drivers of Flammability of Eucalyptus globulus Labill Leaves
T2 - Terpenes, Essential Oils, and Moisture Content
AU - Guerrero, Fabián
AU - Carmona, Camilo
AU - Hernández, Carla
AU - Toledo, Mario
AU - Arriagada, Andrés
AU - Espinoza, Lorena
AU - Bergmann, Jan
AU - Taborga, Lautaro
AU - Yáñez, Karen
AU - Carrasco, Yulian
AU - Muñoz, Ariel A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/6
Y1 - 2022/6
N2 - Mediterranean climate regions have become more vulnerable to fire due to the extreme weather conditions and numerous Eucalyptus globulus plantation areas. The aim of this study is to analyze the fire hazard related to E. globulus in a forest fire scenario, based on the contrast of thermochemical parameters and their relationship with chemical properties, considering the predominant exotic forest species (E. globulus, Pinus radiata, Acacia dealbata, and Acacia melanoxylon) present in the Valparaiso region, Chile. The results revealed that although all of the studied species were highly flammable, E. globulus was extremely flammable, as its leaves contain high concentrations of essential oils, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes, which can generate a flammable atmosphere due to their low flashpoint and the strong negative influence shown between the essential oils, volatile terpenes, and limonene concentration. Moreover, the heat of combustion of E. globulus was positively correlated with its high essential oil contents. Finally, all of the studied species had low flashpoints and high heating values; therefore, they are predisposed to ignite in the presence of a heat source, releasing high amounts of energy during combustion, which contributes to the risk of the formation and spread of canopy fires among these tree formations.
AB - Mediterranean climate regions have become more vulnerable to fire due to the extreme weather conditions and numerous Eucalyptus globulus plantation areas. The aim of this study is to analyze the fire hazard related to E. globulus in a forest fire scenario, based on the contrast of thermochemical parameters and their relationship with chemical properties, considering the predominant exotic forest species (E. globulus, Pinus radiata, Acacia dealbata, and Acacia melanoxylon) present in the Valparaiso region, Chile. The results revealed that although all of the studied species were highly flammable, E. globulus was extremely flammable, as its leaves contain high concentrations of essential oils, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes, which can generate a flammable atmosphere due to their low flashpoint and the strong negative influence shown between the essential oils, volatile terpenes, and limonene concentration. Moreover, the heat of combustion of E. globulus was positively correlated with its high essential oil contents. Finally, all of the studied species had low flashpoints and high heating values; therefore, they are predisposed to ignite in the presence of a heat source, releasing high amounts of energy during combustion, which contributes to the risk of the formation and spread of canopy fires among these tree formations.
KW - Eucalyptus globulus
KW - essential oils
KW - flammability
KW - forest fires
KW - terpenes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85132138354&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/f13060908
DO - 10.3390/f13060908
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85132138354
SN - 1999-4907
VL - 13
JO - Forests
JF - Forests
IS - 6
M1 - 908
ER -
