Particulate and trace gas emissions from prescribed burns in southeastern U.S. fuel types: Summary of a 5-year project

Management of smoke from prescribed fires requires knowledge of fuel quantity and the amount and composition of the smoke produced by the fire to minimize adverse impacts on human health. A five-year study produced new emissions information for more than 100 trace gases and particulate matter in smoke for fuel types found in the southern United States of America using state-of-the-art instrumentation in both laboratory and field experiments. Emission factors for flaming, smoldering, and residual smoldering were developed. Agreement between laboratory and field-derived emission factors was generally good in most cases. Reference spectra of over 50 wildland fire gas-phase smoke components were added to a publicly-available database to support identification via infrared spectroscopy. Fuel loading for the field experiments was similar to previously measured fuels. This article summarizes the results of a five-year study to better understand the composition of smoke during all phases of burning for such forests.