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Decomposition Rates for Hand-Piled Fuels

Year of Publication
2017
Publication Type

Hand-constructed piles in eastern Washington and north-central New Mexico were weighed periodically between October 2011 and June 2015 to develop decay-rate constants that are useful for estimating the rate of piled biomass loss over time. Decay-rate constants (k) were determined by fitting negative exponential curves to time series of pile weight for each site. Piles at the Washington site (k = 0.027/year) decomposed significantly more slowly than piles at the New Mexico site (k = 0.064/year). Significant differences in k for each site may be a function of a between-site variation in pile composition (with or without large woody material), the environmental dissimilarities between sites (Mediterranean climate regime in Washington vs. monsoonal climate regime in New Mexico), or a combination of factors.

Authors
C.S. Wright
Citation

Wright CS. Decomposition Rates for Hand-Piled Fuels. (Evans AM). Portland: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station; 2017 p. 18p.

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