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Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires pp 1–7Cite as

Crown Scorch Height

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Synonyms

Canopy scorch height; Crown scorching; Height of crown scorch; Height of lethal scorch; Height of lethal scorching; Height of scorch; Lethal scorch height; Scorch height; Scorching

Definition

Crown scorch height represents the vertical distance above the ground that lethal scorching of the needles or leaves in the canopy of a forest or shrubland ecosystem has occurred as a result of the heat generated from a surface fire.

Introduction

The hot, rising convective gases and radiant heat from the combustion zone of a surface fire can possibly kill the overstory foliage in a forest or brushfield without consuming the needles or leaves. This vertical dimension of lethal scorching, as typically reflected in a distinct color change, is referred to as the crown scorch height (Fig. 1). Related metrics include crown scorch volume and length expressed as a percentage of the pre-fire values (Peterson and Ryan 1986; Hood 2007b). Note that crown scorch height as used here focuses solely on...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wild Rose Fire Behaviour, Leduc County, AB, Canada

    Martin E. Alexander

  2. CSIRO, Canberra, ACT, Australia

    Miguel G. Cruz

  3. Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, BC, Canada

    Stephen W. Taylor

Authors
  1. Martin E. Alexander
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  2. Miguel G. Cruz
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  3. Stephen W. Taylor
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin E. Alexander .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. United States Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA

    Samuel L. Manzello

Section Editor information

  1. Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China

    Kuibin Zhou

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Alexander, M.E., Cruz, M.G., Taylor, S.W. (2019). Crown Scorch Height. In: Manzello, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51727-8_72-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51727-8_72-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51727-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51727-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EngineeringReference Module Computer Science and Engineering

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