The Golden State Flaming Flora

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective is to determine whether California Native Plants are more or less fire-resistive when dead or alive. Methods/Materials A propane torch was used to burn 7 species of plants in a controlled lab environment. There were 21 samples of each plant, live and dead. Each specimen was burned until self extinguished or 2:00 minutes passed. Plant masses were obtained pre- and post- burn. Fire-resistance was determined by percentage of mass lost and burn time. Results The plant specimens with the greatest fire-resistance were the live sample of the Deer Fern and the dead sample of the Western Coltsfoot. Overall, the live plants group were most fire-resistive based on average mass loss of 1.002 grams. The dead plants group was less fire-resistive based on average mass loss of 1.479 grams. Conclusions/Discussion Based on experimental results, one can conclude that California Native Plants tested were more fire-resistive when live. A homeowner's removal of dead vegetation could potentially lower the risk of property damage in the event of a wildfire.

Competition history

• CSEF 2015 Environmental Science · Entry J1108

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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