Smoke emissions from biomass burning in a Mediterranean shrubland

• Published in: Atmospheric environment (1994) Vol. 44; no. 25; pp. 3024 - 3033
• Main Authors: Alves, C.A., Gonçalves, C., Pio, C.A., Mirante, F., Caseiro, A., Tarelho, L., Freitas, M.C., Viegas, D.X.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Atmospheric pollution; Biomass burning; Carbon; Chemical elements; Combustion; Earth, ocean, space; Emission; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Fires; Forest fires; Greenhouse gas emissions; Meteorology; Mountains; Organic and elemental carbon; Particles and aerosols; Particulate emissions; Pollution; Smoke; Trace elements; Tropical forests; Water-soluble ions; Iberian Peninsula; Southern Europe; Portugal; Europe; ANE, Portugal; MED; Organic and elemental carbon; Water-soluble ions; Greenhouse gas emissions; Chemical elements; Forest fires; Particulate emissions; mountains; Fourier transformation; Carbon compound; Gas emission; neutron activation analysis; aerosols; plumes; Carbon dioxide; Emission content; Pollutant emission; Controlled burning; greenhouse gas; Coarse particle; trace elements; Smoke emission; Optical transmission; Fine particle; ion chromatography; savanna; acetylene; organic carbon; Carbonaceous materials; Tropical forest; combustion; ecosystems; methane; Air pollution; Vegetation fire; Forest fire; chemical composition; Combustion efficiency
• ISSN: 1352-2310; 1873-2844
• DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2010.05.010

Gaseous and particulate samples from the smoke from prescribed burnings of a shrub-dominated forest with some pine trees in Lousã Mountain, Portugal, in May 2008, have been collected. From the gas phase Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurements, an average modified combustion efficiency of 0.99 was obtained, suggesting a very strong predominance of flaming combustion. Gaseous compounds whose emissions are promoted in fresh plumes and during the flaming burning phase, such as CO 2, acetylene and propene, produced emission factors higher than those proposed for savannah and tropical forest fires. Emission factors of species that are favoured by the smouldering phase (e.g. CO and CH 4) were below the values reported in the literature for biomass burning in other ecosystems. The chemical composition of fine (PM 2.5) and coarse (PM 2.5–10) particles was achieved using ion chromatography (water-soluble ions), instrumental neutron activation analysis (trace elements) and a thermal–optical transmission technique (organic carbon and elemental carbon). Approximately 50% of the particulate mass was carbonaceous in nature with a clear dominance of organic carbon. The organic carbon-to-elemental carbon ratios up to 300, or even higher, measured in the present study largely exceeded those reported for fires in savannah and tropical forests. More than 30 trace elements and ions have been determined in smoke aerosols, representing in total an average contribution of about 7% to the PM 10 mass.