Estimating grass fuel loads with a disc pasture meter in the Kruger National Park.

Abstract

Reports the results of a study conducted to assess the efficiency of a new calibration procedure for the disc pasture meter, used for estimating the fuel load available for combustion during fires; The major portion of the fuel load in the savanna areas comprises surface fuels in the form of the standing grass sward. The disc pasture meter was successfully calibrated for estimating grass fuel loads in the main landscapes of the Kruger National Park. The calibration comprised estimating the mean disc height of a 4m² quadrat and harvesting the grass as close to ground level as possible. Using a large quadrat gave highly satisfactory results indicating that this procedure should be considered as a standard method of calibration, particularly in grass swards having a low basal cover.

Keywords: basal cover; Calibration herbage mass; disc pasture meter; Disc pasture meters; fire; fuel load; grass; Grass fuel loads; grass sward; grasses; kruger national park; method; pasture; savanna; south africa; Standing grass swards

Journal of the Grassland Society of Southern Africa.