Why wildfires behave differently in boreal forests
https://phys.org/news/2018-07-wildfires-differently-boreal-forests.html
Dr. Alena Zhdanova investigates how thermophysical and thermokinetic characteristics of forest combustible materials affect the process of cessation of flame combustion and thermal decomposition under conditions of exposure to extinguishing liquid mixture in the case of brush-wood fires.
As she notes, in the event of brushwood fires, the leaf litter up to 10 cm high burns out, and low-level burning often causes the upper fire of the boreal areas. Kinetic and thermophysical parameters of forest combustible materials (FCM) can significantly effect cessation of heterogeneous combustion and thermal decomposition. Thus, in case of brushwood fires, air gaps affecting the extinguishing process are formed in the layers of the leaf litter, while the upper layer of the litter has been forming for years and differs from the fresh litter.