Student researcher

Li Zhao Research Leader

This research aims to forecast fuel moisture content (FMC) by coupling FMC and water cycle models. The FMC model is a physical process-based model and the water cycle model is the Australian Water Resources Assessment system landscape (AWRA-L) model.

This project aims to fill a research gap in understanding the effect of soil moisture on fuel moisture content: soil moisture has been shown to affect fuel moisture content but the role of soil moisture in determining fuel moisture content is uncertain. Although some soil-vegetation-atmosphere transfer models predict litter moisture when modeling soil moisture, these models are not suitable for bushfire management. To address this issue, the project will couple a physical fuel moisture content model and a hydrological model to develop a more flexible and accurate FMC model which will be applied at a large scale for operational use. In solving this problem, the project will provide end user organisations with more reliable and accurate outcomes in bushfire management as well as tools to better forecast FMC. 

Coupling Litter and Soil Moisture Dynamics For Dead Fuel Moisture Content Forecasting
19 Sep 2018
This research aims to evaluate the role of soil moisture in determining dead fuel moisture content by...
09 Sep 2019
Several models have been used for dead fuel moisture content (FMC) forecasting. However, none of these models...
31 Aug 2020
Key findings: The influence of soil moisture on litter fuel moisture content (FMC) depends on the soil...