BGS Hosted Metadata
Flammability metrics from cone calorimetry for common wildfire fuels sampled in Great Britain from 2021-2023
This dataset contains flammability metrics for fuel types that are commonly involved in wildfires in the UK. Flammability data were obtained by cone calorimetry, and include measures of ignitibility (time to ignition), peak heat release rate, total heat release, and effective heat of combustion. The dataset contains the results of 1634 tests on 833 fuel samples, with 801 of these being tested in duplicate. Samples were obtained between January 2021 and October 2023 from 22 sites across Great Britain. Calorimetry data are matched to weather data obtained at times of sampling, and fuel moisture contents obtained by weighing samples before and after drying. The data will be used to assess comparative fire risk between vegetation types, and to refine inputs for fire behaviour modelling. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/45af9c3d-999d-44dd-83fc-b4d81632967d
Simple
- Date (Publication)
- 2026-03-02
- Citation identifier
- https://catalogue.ceh.ac.uk/id/45af9c3d-999d-44dd-83fc-b4d81632967d
- Citation identifier
- doi: / 10.5285/45af9c3d-999d-44dd-83fc-b4d81632967d
- Other citation details
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Belcher, C.M., Baker, S.J., Clay, G.D., Crawford, A.J., Doerr, S.H., Elliott, A., Ivison, K., Kettridge, N., Little, K., Morison, J.I.L., Nikonovas, T., Orpin, A., Tatkiewicz, W., Vitali, R. (2026). Flammability metrics from cone calorimetry for common wildfire fuels sampled in Great Britain from 2021-2023. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre 10.5285/45af9c3d-999d-44dd-83fc-b4d81632967d
- Point of contact
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Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role University of Exeter
Alastair Crawford
Point of contact University of Exeter
Belcher, C.M.
Author University of Exeter
Baker, S.J.
Author University of Manchester
Clay, G.D.
Author University of Exeter
Crawford, A.J.
Author Swansea University
Doerr, S.H.
Author Universty of Exeter
Elliott, A.
Author University of Birmingham
Ivison, K.
Author University of Birmingham
Kettridge, N.
Author University of Birmingham
Little, K.
Author Forest Research
Morison, J.I.L.
Author Swansea University
Nikonovas, T.
Author University of Birmingham
Orpin, A.
Author University of Exeter
Tatkiewicz, W.
Author University of Exeter
Vitali, R.
Author University of Exeter
EMAIL NOT PROVIDED
Owner NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre Publisher NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre Custodian
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GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0
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Environmental Monitoring Facilities
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- Keywords
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- Environmental risk
- Phenology
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flammability
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fuel moisture
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wildfire
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heat release
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heat content
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heat of combustion
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cone calorimetry
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ignitibility
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Great Britain
- Access constraints
- Other restrictions
- Other constraints
- no limitations
- Use constraints
- Other restrictions
- Use constraints
- Other restrictions
- Other constraints
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If you reuse this data, you should cite: Belcher, C.M., Baker, S.J., Clay, G.D., Crawford, A.J., Doerr, S.H., Elliott, A., Ivison, K., Kettridge, N., Little, K., Morison, J.I.L., Nikonovas, T., Orpin, A., Tatkiewicz, W., Vitali, R. (2026). Flammability metrics from cone calorimetry for common wildfire fuels sampled in Great Britain from 2021-2023. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre https://doi.org/10.5285/45af9c3d-999d-44dd-83fc-b4d81632967d
- Spatial representation type
- Text, table
- Language
- English
- Character set
- UTF8
- Topic category
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- Biota
- Environment
- Begin date
- 2021-01-01
- End date
- 2023-10-31
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- Unique resource identifier
- OSGB 1936 / British National Grid
- Distribution format
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Name Version Comma-separated values (CSV)
- Distributor contact
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Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
Distributor
- OnLine resource
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Protocol Linkage Name https://data-package.ceh.ac.uk/data/45af9c3d-999d-44dd-83fc-b4d81632967d Download the data
- OnLine resource
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Protocol Linkage Name https://data-package.ceh.ac.uk/sd/45af9c3d-999d-44dd-83fc-b4d81632967d.zip Supporting information
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
- Other
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dataset
Conformance result
- Title
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Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services
- Date (Publication)
- 2010-12-08
- Statement
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The samples were collected from 22 sites across Great Britain (see supporting documentation). The general sampling regime included: (1) fortnightly sampling of lowland heath vegetation from March 2021 to February 2022; (2) monthly sampling of forest plantation litter from July 2022 to July 2023; and (3) monthly sampling of upland heaths and moorlands from July 2022 to July 2023, with sampling occasionally prevented by weather conditions or travel restrictions. As data for low fuel moisture conditions is of particular importance, further sampling of lowland heaths was undertaken on days without precipitation, and additional sampling at one site (Woodbury Common) focused on periods of dry weather from May to October 2023. Whether dead and/or live fuel samples were present varied seasonally according to species, and a small number of collected samples were lost during processing, or contained insufficient material to use two replicates for flammability testing. Weather data were recorded on the majority of sampling occasions; this depended on the equipment available at the time and location and is therefore not consistent across the dataset. Some individual weather data, fuel moisture values, and time-to-ignition values are missing due to human error. Shrubs were sampled by cutting approximately the top 15 cm of the canopy, and non-woody plants by taking the whole aboveground plant. Each litter sample was collected at a single point, and the duff samples from immediately beneath. Weather data were recorded with a Kestrel 5400FW or 3550FW Fire Weather Meter (Kestrel instruments, USA). Moisture content was preserved by sealing samples in zip-lock polythene bags (litter and vegetation) or polythene tubes (duff). Laboratory processing began typically 24 hours after collection, excepting lowland heath vegetation which was tested on the day of collection. Each sample was divided to provide two subsamples for flammability testing and one for moisture content measurement. Moisture content was obtained by weighing subsamples (c. 20 g), then placing them in a drying cabinet at 40-50° C until they reached constant weight. The flammability subsamples were analysed in an 'iCone plus' cone calorimeter (Fire Testing Technology Ltd, East Grinstead, UK). The weighed subsample is filled into a perforated steel cylinder of 375 cm3, and placed 25 mm beneath the heating element, set to 750° C, to achieve a heat flux of 50 kW m−2 at the surface of the sample. The apparatus maintains an electric arc 15 mm above the surface to ignite the pyrolysate. Time to ignition (TTI) is recorded manually. The sample remains in place until flaming ceases, and the test time is defined as ending 20 s after cessation of flaming. Non-ignition after 300 s (240 s for lowland heaths) results in the test being discontinued, as the fuel is considered non-ignitable in any realistic scenario. PHRR, THR and EHC are calculated automatically and recorded after the test is complete.
Metadata
- File identifier
- 45af9c3d-999d-44dd-83fc-b4d81632967d XML
- Metadata language
- English
- Character set
- 8859 Part 1
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
- Hierarchy level name
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dataset
- Date stamp
- 2026-03-03T15:12:49
- Metadata standard name
- UK GEMINI
- Metadata standard version
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2.3
- Metadata author
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Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre Point of contact
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