Flammability of plant species of pine ecosystem

Abstract

Fires have been recognized as one of the main causes of the loss of forests, terrestrial ecosystems of great importance not only for men but also for other living things that depend on them for their livelihoods. Precisely fuels are one of the elements of both the combustion triangle as the spread, so study their characteristics is of great importance, one being flammability. In Cuba they do not exist until now studies flammability of plant species, which could contribute to the improvement of the basic activities of fire management, as they provide the ability to define areas with different risk, which may vary for some species, for the year.In correspondence with the above, the overall objective of this study was to evaluate the annual distribution of the flammability of some plant species of pine ecosystem. The samples were collected in the 18 km road to Viñales every month during the period November 2010 to October 2011 between 10:15 and at11: 15 hours. The method described by Elvira and Hernando (1989) and Hernando (2000 and 2009) was used for determining the flammability of fuels. Among other results may be mentioned that the average times lower inflammation was obtained correspond to the period from November to February, being the species with the lowest average value for this variable during the Clidemia hirta. The higher average value was obtained for the case of Rondeletia correifolia.