the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
| 16 Mar 2026
A comprehensive assessment of emissions from prescribed fires in two Mediterranean shrublands: chemical and morphological analysis
Abstract. Prescribed fires were conducted in two shrubland communities dominated by Genista hispanica subsp. occidentalis and Calluna vulgaris in La Cueta, León, Spain, to characterise particulate and gaseous emissions during combustion. Distinct fire dynamics were observed: Calluna exhibited a Modified Combustion Efficiency (MCE) of 90.6, indicative of flaming combustion, while Genista showed an MCE of 70.8, characteristic of smouldering conditions. Gas-phase analysis revealed notably higher concentrations of CO2, CO, CH4, C2H6, and total organic carbon (TOC) in Calluna compared to Genista, with CO2 showing the greatest difference. Conversely, Genista exhibited slightly elevated NO and NO2 levels. Most gas concentrations were higher for Calluna, except for hydrogen fluoride (HF), which was more abundant in Genista. Elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) accounted for 28.1 % and 32.9 % of PM2.5 mass in Calluna and Genista, respectively. Water-soluble inorganic ions contributed 6.9 % and 4.5 % to PM2.5 mass, with most ions more abundant in Calluna, except chloride (Cl⁻), which was higher in Genista. In both cases, Cl-, SO42-, Na+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ dominated the ionic composition. Morphological analysis revealed a population dominated by tar balls (submicrometer spherical particles) and aggregates with thick organic coatings. Derived emission factors are expected to provide valuable input for numerical models evaluating the impacts of prescribed and unplanned forest fires in the Mediterranean region.
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- RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2026-952', Anonymous Referee #1, 13 Apr 2026
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RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2026-952', Anonymous Referee #2, 13 May 2026
Blanco-Alegre et al. reported particulate and gaseous emissions from prescribed fires in two Mediterranean shrubland ecosystems. Through chemical and morphological analyses, they established a link between the fuel characteristics and the emissions. The emission factors of various organic and inorganic species reported will be useful for future assessment of the air quality impacts of prescribed fires in the Mediterranean region. However, in its current form, I feel the manuscript’s novelty is mainly about reporting emission factors from these two fuels. It appears better suited for publication as a measurement report rather than a full research article. The authors should try to highlight the novelty of this work beyond reporting emission factors. I also recommend more analysis and discussion on its implication on air quality/fire management policy.
Another critical issue is, the authors refer to several tables in the text, including Tables 1-3, but I am not able to find these tables in the submitted manuscript. They should be provided.
Specific comments:
Line 101-106: The description about sampling is too brief. More details should be included. For example, what is the sampling duration and flow rate for each filter sample? Where were the filter/bag collection instruments placed? Do they belong to the airborne instruments mentioned at Line 105?
Line 130-131: Gas phase emissions were sampled into Tedlar bags for analyses. Although the analyses were made a few hours after sampling, I am still concerned whether a substantial amount of NH3 and methanol could have been adsorbed by the surface of the bags. Please check literature or perform QA/QC experiments to provide more quantitative description. Also, this paper talks about the emissions of HF and HCHO, but the measurement methods are not provided.
Line 265 (Figure 2): Since the manuscript focuses on emissions from prescribed fires, it would be helpful to include emission factors from wildfires in the same or closely related Mediterranean shrubland ecosystems. The author should also clarify whether the reference emission factors for savannas/grasslands and temperate forests in Figure 2 are derived from prescribed fires, wildfires, laboratory burns, or a mixture of fire types.
Minor comments:
Line 18 and Lines 141-145: Please use consistent units for MCE throughout the manuscript. In some places, MCE is reported as a percentage, whereas in others it is reported as a dimensionless value. Please standardize the format.
Line 53-55: Please give a citation for this statement. Organic Carbon, especially biomass burning OC also contains BrC which can absorb solar radiation as well. Are there papers about the net radiative effect of OC?
Line 78-79: This sentence is hard to understand. What does “heatlands” mean?
Line 154: Are these fuel carbon fraction values measured or from literature?
Line 300 (Figure 3): Subscript for nitrate ion
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-952-RC2
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The comments have been uploaded in the form of a supplement:
https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-952/egusphere-2026-952-RC1-supplement.pdf