In general, tunnels are designed with an abundance of safety regarding structural integrity, however, there can be uncertainty related to structural performance after a fire event. The residual condition of a tunnel after a fire is dependent on fire intensity and duration. The goal of this study is to correlate visual and material characteristics of structural and non-structural components of tunnels with fire temperature and exposure time. This can be further related to the residual capacity of structural members in a tunnel, providing insight into safety and overall functionality. Experimental results show that the visual response of materials with heat exposure is variable and dependent on a number of factors. A wide range of materials were studied to establish a well-versed collection of data that may be used in a post-fire inspection. In addition, mechanical testing of three configurations of structural slabs exposed to different heating regimens was conducted. The influence of heat on a structural member may be complex, and was found to be minimal for the heating regimens and loading procedures applied. This work can serve as an aid for post-fire investigation by providing methods to estimate fire intensity and duration through visual observation and mechanical testing.

Over the past couple of decades, fires have experienced changes on a global scale. These changing fire regimes point to an alarming direction where fire-dependent ecosystems are experiencing a decline in burned area, while fire-independent ecosystems are experiencing an increase. As a result, land cover change is seen in both types of ecosystems where the native plant communities run the risk of disappearing, and recovery becomes increasingly important. One of the areas experiencing a notable increase in fires is California, US. Here, both observed and projected changes indicate increasing frequency of fires, fire size and fire severity. In this study, post-fire recovery for 5 land cover types in California is compared using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time-series. Two metrics are used for post-fire recovery, where a metric that describes short-term recovery is found most appropriate for a comparison between land cover types. It is found that the land cover type “Trees” has the longest recovery, followed by “Herbaceous/Shrubs”. Faster recovery times are found in the late fire season compared to the early fire season, indicating an influence of precipitation on post-fire vegetation recovery. Similarly, faster recovery times are found in a semi-arid climate zone compared to the Mediterranean climate zones. This indicates the potential influence of species composition on post-fire vegetation recovery. Results particularly show differences in post-fire recovery between land cover types, but also between fire seasons and climate zones. To examine these details in further detail, fire severity, meteorological data, and a more detailed classification for vegetation types could be implemented as factors determining post-fire recovery.

A sequence of burned surfaces aged 0, 1, 2, 24, and 80 years was investigated regarding changes in the spectral distribution of reflected light. Controls were introduced to isolate diurnal and seasonal effects. The results show gradually increasing reflectance with increasing age of burn. With the establishment of vegetation a new set of absorbtion and reflectance criteria are established substantially altering the spectral characteristics. The apparent effect of a mature forest canopy is ambiguous. Diffuse and overcast conditions reduce the reflectance for all surfaces. Further work is suggested to reinforce results for surfaces with low sampling replication. / Thesis / Bachelor of Science (BSc)

In this study, stage, streamflow, and precipitation data was collected from small watersheds in the Swanton Pacific Ranch for the first two hydrologic years following the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex. The Little Creek watershed was setup for high-resolution data collection with four separate stage gauge sites (Main Stem, North Fork, South Fork, and Upper North Fork) and four rain gauge sites (Al Smith House, Ridgeline, Upper North Fork, and Landing 23). Stage gauge sites were also established at Queseria, Archibald, and Mill creeks. Preliminary post-fire rating curves were developed for the four sites of Little Creek. The Main Stem (MS) and North Fork (NF) post-fire curves showed some flattening of the slope indicating channel filling, while the South Fork (SF) curve displayed a steepening indicating channel scouring. The Upper North Fork (UNF) rating curve did not indicate any shifts. However, at the time of this study the rating curves were incomplete due to limitations in streamflow measurements. Linear regression models were fit to pre-fire data (hydrologic years 2000-2008) to predict peak flows and storm flow volumes. Antecedent precipitation index (API) and total storm precipitation depth were found to be significant predictors while peak 1-hour rainfall intensity was not. Comparison of post-fire observations to pre-fire model predictions indicated that there were increases in both peak flow and storm flow volumes in Little Creek. However, these findings are not statistically significant due to the limited post-fire observations (n

This post-fire study was conducted to characterize and observe fire induced changes in physical habitat parameters, water-quality conditions and macroinvertebrate assemblages in the Little Creek watershed, a tributary to Scotts Creek located in Cal Poly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch in Davenport, California. Pre-fire data was collected by a Cal Poly student, John Hardy, for his 2017 thesis. Post-burn bioassessment surveys for this study were repeated at four of the same study sites used by Hardy to provide comparisons to the California Stream Condition Index via a modified version of the State of California’s Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program protocol. Macroinvertebrates were taxonomically identified to the family level. Commonly used bioassessment indices were utilized in conjunction with Stepwise regression and Analysis of Variance on both pre- and post-fire datasets to illustrate how physical habitat and water quality parameters changed after the fire and to determine the significance of collected environmental variables (stream shading, cross sectional area, and median particle size) as predictors of macroinvertebrate community structure. Despite most of Little Creek having moderate and high burn severities, it was found that physical habitat, water quality and benthic macroinvertebrate populations were not greatly disturbed by the 2020 CZU lighting complex fire. Proportions of highly disturbance/pollution sensitive taxa and increased following the wildfire and there was a dramatic shift from collector-gatherer to predator organisms. Comparison of pre- and post-fire data in this study showed fire having a minimal effect on the studied watershed. Difference in study goals and associated protocols used in the pre- and post-fire studies and the low water year following the wildfire, complicates statistical comparisons and poses threat to the validity of results. However, there is opportunity for further investigation about the ability of an ecosystem to successfully recover from natural disasters and disturbances, specifically when there is little human impact (or influence) on the ecosystem.

Aluminum alloys are increasingly being used in a broad spectrum of applications such as lightweight structures, light rail, bridge decks, marine crafts, and off-shore platforms. The post-fire (residual) integrity of aluminum structures is of particular concern as a severe degradation in mechanical properties may occur without catastrophic failure, even for short duration, low intensity fires. The lack of research characterizing residual mechanical behavior results in an unquantified mechanical state of the structure, potentially requiring excessively conservative repair. This research aims to develop an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms governing the residual aluminum alloys so as to establish a knowledge-base to assist intelligent structural repair. In this work, the residual mechanical behavior after fire exposure of marine-grade aluminum alloys AA5083-H116 and AA6061-T651 is characterized by extensive mechanical testing. Metallography was performed to identify the as-received and post-fire microstructural state. This extensive characterization was utilized to develop constitutive models for the residual elasto-plastic mechanical behavior of the alloys. The constitutive models were developed as a series of sub-models to predict (i) microstructural evolution, (ii) residual yield strength, and (iii) strain hardening after fire exposure. The AA5083-H116 constitutive model was developed considering the microstructural processes of recovery and recrystallization. The residual yield strength was calculated considering solid solution, subgrain, and grain strengthening. A recovery model was used to predict subgrain growth and a recrystallization model was used to predict grain nucleation and growth, as well as subgrain annihilation. Strain hardening was predicted using the Kocks-Mecking-Estrin law modified to account for the additional dislocation storage and dynamic recovery of subgrains. The AA6061-T651 constitutive model was developed considering precipitate nucleation, growth, and dissolution. A Kampmann-Wagner numerical model was used to predict precipitate size distribution evolution during elevated temperature exposure. The residual yield strength was calculated using solid solution and precipitate strengthening, considering both shearable and non-shearable precipitates. A modified KME law was used to predict residual strain hardening considering the additional effects of the precipitate-dislocation interactions, focusing on the efficient of dislocation (Orowan) loop storage and recovery about the precipitates. In both cases, the constitutive models were bench-marked against experimental data. / Ph. D.

Orientador: Alessandra Fidelis / Resumo: No Cerrado, um dos fatores abióticos que influenciam na fenologia das plantas é o fogo, o qual é um distúrbio natural que interfere em diversos ecossistemas do mundo. O fogo altera as condições do habitat podendo afetar a floração, frutificação, atributos das sementes e germinação. Portanto, esse projeto visou compreender o efeito do fogo na fenologia reprodutiva e nos atributos de semente e germinação da comunidade do Cerrado. Para isso, foram realizadas a contagem do número de ramos (vegetativos e reprodutivos) por espécie, realizados em 30 subparcelas de 1x1m em áreas com diferentes históricos de fogo (C=6 anos sem queima e FB=recentemente queimada). Também foram marcados indivíduos de diferentes espécies dominantes em ambas as áreas. A comunidade e os indivíduos tiveram sua floração acompanhados a cada 15 dias durante 3 meses após a queima e então aos 6, 9 e 12 meses. Os seguintes atributos das sementes e germinação foram medidos: forma e peso da semente, teor de água, germinabilidade, tempo médio de germinação e sincronia. Nossos resultados mostraram que o fogo aumentou a floração nas áreas queimadas. Já nos primeiros 30 dias até 3 meses após a queima houve até 2 vezes mais espécies que floresceram nas áreas FB comparados a C. Também houve um aumento significativo na proporção de ramos reprodutivos aos 3 meses pós-fogo na comunidade, mostrando que a profusão reprodutiva ocorre nos primeiros meses após queima. Dentre as espe... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In Cerrado one of the abiotic factors that influences plant phenology is fire, which is a natural disturbance that interferes with several ecosystems in the world. Fire changes the conditions of the habitat and can affect flowering, fruiting and seeds and germination traits. Therefore, this project aimed to understand the effect of fire on reproductive phenology and on seed and germination traits of Cerrado community. For this purpose, the counting of the number of branches (vegetative and reproductive) by species was carried out in 30 subplots of 1x1m in areas with different fire histories (C = 6 years without burning and FB = recently burned). We also marked individuals of different dominant species in both areas. The community and individuals had their flowering counted every 15 days for 3 months after burning and then at 6, 9 and 12 months. The following seed and germination traits were measured: seed shape and mass/weight, water content, germinability, mean germination time and synchrony. Our results showed that fire increased flowering in burned areas. Already after 30 days up to 3 months after the burning there were up to 2-fold more species flowering in the FB areas compared to C. There was also a significant increase in the proportion of reproductive shoots at 3 months post-fire in the community, showing that the reproductive profusion occurs in the first few months after burning. Among the species of the community 66.39% can be considered stimulated by fire. Seed an... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

This thesis includes two studies: The first examined developmental changes that take place in the physiology of aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and to characterize developmental influences on patterns of phenotypic trait variation among different aged ramets within the aspen clones. We surveyed eight clones, each with 8 distinct age classes ranging from 1 to 170 yrs in age. Using regression analysis we examined the relationships between ramet age and expression of functional phenotypes. Eight of the phenotypic traits demonstrated a non-linear relationship in which large changes in phenotype occurred in the early stages of ramet development and stabilized thereafter. Water and nutrient concentration, leaf gas exchange and phenolic glycosides tended to decrease from early to late development, while sucrose and condensed tannin concentrations and water use efficiency increased with ramet age. We hypothesize that ontogenetically derived phenotypic variation leads to fitness differentials among different aged ramets, which may have important implications for clone fitness. Age-related increases in phenotypic diversity may partially underlie aspen's ability as a species to tolerate the large environmental gradients that span its broad geographical range. Fire is an essential component of many forest ecosystems and fire exclusion policies and other anthropogenic factors have significantly altered disturbance regimes, which has lead to increased aspen succession to conifers. The second study examined how post-fire aspen regeneration success is influenced by increasing conifer abundance under longer fire return intervals. 66 sites were selected from the Sanford prescribed fire complex located in the Dixie National Forest. Slope, aspect, sucker regeneration heights, soil samples, and post and prefire stand densities were measured. Results from this study demonstrated that pre-disturbance conifer abundance and aspen densities are good predictors of aspen sucker regeneration success. Results also found that although conifer densities don't change across aspects, aspen densities are different on north facing slopes. We hypothesize the high levels of aspen regeneration came from a large disturbance size which overwhelmed the high levels of herbivores.

Several regions of the Western United States utilize statistical binary classification models to predict and manage debris flow initiation probability after wildfires. As the occurrence of wildfires and large intensity rainfall events increase, so has the frequency in which development occurs in the steep and mountainous terrain where these events arise. This resulting intersection brings with it an increasing need to derive improved results from existing models, or develop new models, to reduce the economic and human impacts that debris flows may bring. Any development or change to these models could also theoretically increase the ease of collection, processing, and implementation into new areas. Generally, existing models rely on inputs as a function of rainfall intensity, fire effects, terrain type, and surface characteristics. However, no variable in these models directly accounts for the shear stiffness of the soil. This property when considered with the respect to the state of the loading of the sediment informs the likelihood of particle dislocation, contractive or dilative volume changes, and downslope movement that triggers debris flows. This study proposes incorporating shear wave velocity (in the form of slope-based thirty-meter shear wave velocity, Vs30) to account for this shear stiffness. As commonly used in seismic soil liquefaction analysis, the shear stiffness is measured via shear wave velocity which is the speed of the vertically propagating horizontal shear wave through sediment. This spatially mapped variable allows for broad coverage in the watersheds of interest. A logistic regression is used to then compare the new variable against what is currently used in predictive post-fire debris flow triggering models. Resulting models indicated improvement in some measures of statistical utility through receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) and threat score analysis, a method of ranking models based on true/false positive and negative results. However, the integration of Vs30 offers similar utility to current models in additional metrics, suggesting that this input can benefit from further refinement. Further suggestions are additionally offered to further improve the use of Vs30 through in-situ measurements of surface shear wave propagation and integration into Vs30 datasets through a possible transfer function. Additional discussion into input variables and their impact on created models is also included.

A population of spotted-tailed quolls Dasyurus maculatus was studied for three years (2002-2004) in the lower catchment of the Jacobs River, in the Byadbo Wilderness Area of southern Kosciuszko National Park, south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Survey and monitoring of quoll latrine sites and prey populations, dietary analysis and live-trapping was carried out for one year before and two years after the widespread wildfires of January 2003, which had a very high impact on the study area. Survey for spotted-tailed quoll latrine sites was successful in locating a total of 90 latrine sites in the Jacobs River study area over the three years of the study. These were found throughout all parts of the topography among large, complex granite outcrops and along rocky sections of riparian habitat. After the fire in 2003, lower numbers of latrines were in use than observed pre-fire, and there was a lower level of usage (number of scats) of individual latrines. Continued monitoring in 2004 revealed that many latrines that had become inactive in 2003 following the fire were re-activated in the second breeding season following fire. 1466 spotted-tailed quoll scats were collected from latrines and live-trapped quolls over the three years of the study. Hair analysis from scats identified twenty-two different species of mammal in the diet of the spotted-tailed quoll from the Jacobs River study area, representing the majority of all prey identified (98.5% occurrence) and contributing almost all of the biomass consumed (99.6%). Medium-sized mammals were the most important prey category, followed by small mammals, large mammals (most likely taken as carrion) and non-mammalian prey (birds, reptiles, insects and plants). Brushtail possums were the most important single prey item by both frequency of occurrence and percentage biomass in all years, followed by lagomorphs (rabbits and hares), Rattus spp., and swamp wallabies. There was a significant difference in the composition of the diet by major prey category across the years of the study as a result of the fire, indicated by a shift in utilisation of food resources by quolls in response to significant changes in prey availability. Monitoring of prey populations revealed that brushtail possums, lagomorphs and bandicoots were all significantly less abundant in the study area in the winter directly following the fire, followed by a significant increase in abundance of lagomorphs, but not of possums, in the second winter after the fire. Quolls adapted well to this altered prey availability. While there was a significant decrease in occurrence of brushtail possum in scats after the fire, significantly more scats contained hair of lagomorphs, to the point where almost equal proportions of lagomorphs and possum hair occurred in scats by the winter of 2004. Other fire-induced changes to the diet were evident, such as a significant drop in the occurrence of small mammals in scats for both winters after the fire, and a peak in occurrence of large mammals in the winter directly following the fire that strongly suggests there was a short-term increase in the availability of carrion. A large, high-density population of spotted-tailed quolls was live-trapped and marked during the winter breeding season of 2002. Twenty-two quolls (13 male and 9 female) were present in the study area in 2002, and subsequent trapping over the 2003 and 2004 winter breeding seasons following the fire revealed that the high-intensity wildfire did not result in the extinction of the local population. There was evidence of a small, short-term decline in the number of quolls present in the study area in the 2003 breeding season, with 16 individual quolls captured. Males were outnumbered two-to-one by females, due either to mortality or emigration. Trapping in 2004 showed a recovery of the population to numbers exceeding that observed prior to the fire, with 26 individuals captured (16 male, 10 female), most likely as a result of immigration. There was some evidence that recruitment of young from the post-fire breeding season in 2003 was reduced because of the fire. This study took advantage of an unplanned wildfire event to monitor the response of a population of spotted-tailed quolls and their prey. In this regard it was fortuitous since it has been recognised that the use of replicates and controls in the study of the impacts of wildfire on such species is likely to be logistically impossible. Consequently, the effects of fire on forest and woodland fauna such as the spotted-tailed quoll are poorly understood, with many authors expressing concern that, potentially, wildfires are likely to be highly detrimental to resident quoll populations. The results of this study, however, concur with the few other studies in which forest mammal populations have been monitored before and after wildfire in suggesting that wildfires may not be as destructive to fauna as that imagined. The results of this work will provide information to assist in the preparation of management strategies for the species, such as recovery plans, as well as information for land managers preparing management plans, including fire management plans, for habitats in which spotted-tailed quolls are found throughout their range.