-, 150 



125 



MAY 



_ Pre-qreen , live 



JUNE 





JULY 



AUG. SEPT. 

 _ Herbaceous moisture less than 30%, _ 



fuel load zero 







\ 





live fuel load zero 



100 



75 



50 



25 



Green ■ 



- Herbaceous moisture less than 120%, live fuel load variable 

 I Herbaceous moisture greater than 120%, live fuel load maximum 



Herbaceous moisture greater than 30%, live fuel load increasing 



Figure 7. — After greenup is complete, the fast drying rate assigned to annuals results 

 in a rapid transfer of fuel load from the live herbaceous to the 1-h TL category. 



Woody Fuel Moisture Model 



Prior to greenup in the spring, woody shrubs are assumed to be dormant, so the 

 woody fuel moisture (WFM) is held constant. Measurements of chamise leaf moisture in 

 southern California (Dell and Philpot 1965) indicate minimum values for woody plants 

 in climate class 2 i.= about 60 percent. Likewise, measurements in the southeast 



(Blackmarr and Planner 1968) suggest a minimum woody moisture of 70 percent for climate 

 class 3. So depending on the climate class, pregreen WFM values are defined as 50, 60, 

 70, or 80 for climate classes 1, 2, 3, or 4 respectively. During spring greenup, woody 



moisture gradually increases from the pregreen minimum according to the equation: 



13 



