How to measure the particle ignitability of forest species by TG and LOI

A method was developed to measure the relative particle ignitability (spontaneous and pilot) of forest species using thermogravimetry (TG/DTG) and limiting oxygen index (LOI) techniques. The forest species selected: Pinus halepensis Mill., Quercus coccifera L., Pistacia lentiscus L., Arbutus unedo L., Cistus incanus L. and forest litter, are dominated in wildland/urban interface (WUI) regions in Mediterranean. The relationships of spontaneous with pilot ignition and ignitability with other flammability parameters (i.e., combustion duration), were investigated. Based on the above ignitability measurements the examined forest species were ranked into categories. Thus, the most ignitable fuel was forest litter and the least one P. lentiscus.