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Imaggeo on Mondays: Setting trees aflame to understand the carbon balance of fires

Imaggeo on Mondays: Setting trees aflame to understand the carbon balance of fires

Smoke clears after an experimental wildfire in Australian eucalyptus forest carried out for carbon balance estimations of wildfires. We meticulously measured the carbon in all leaves, twigs, logs and bark in a forest block about 35km east of Manjimup and then they set it on fire with help from the Dept. of Parks and Wildlife, [Western Australia]. We the counted the carbon all over again including measuring ash and charcoal and calculating what percentage of the original carbon gets locked away when burnt.

The results will be analysed along with data from fire-prone forests around the world and will add an important piece of the puzzle to how we understand carbon balance of fires.

For full article see: http://particle.scitech.org.au/earth/international-wildfire-research-heats-wa/

Description by Stefan Doerr, as it first appeared on imaggeo.egu.eu

Imaggeo is the EGU’s online open access geosciences image repository. All geoscientists (and others) can submit their photographs and videos to this repository and, since it is open access, these images can be used for free by scientists for their presentations or publications, by educators and the general public, and some images can even be used freely for commercial purposes. Photographers also retain full rights of use, as Imaggeo images are licensed and distributed by the EGU under a Creative Commons licence. Submit your photos at http://imaggeo.egu.eu/upload/.

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Olivia Trani is a former Communications Officer at the European Geosciences Union. Olivia has a MS in Science Journalism from Boston University and her work has appeared on WBUR-FM, Inside Science News Service, and the American Geophysical Union. Olivia tweets at @oliviatrani.


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