A lot, according to Don Despain, an ecologist with the US Geological Survey's Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center at Montana State University . Despain says the intensity of forest fires can be determined by measuring the diameter of twigs that went through it. To test this theory, Despain has been studying twigs burned during experimental crown fires in Canada.
Twigs typically take the shape of cones, with the skinniest part being near the top.
You can tell how intense a fire was by how far down the twig the diameter remains constant from the tip. As Despain's suggests, investigating fire intensity through the analysis of twigs may allow managers to discern the effects of a fire without placing instruments in the forest. If you are unable to get information on the kilowatts per meter because of instrument failure, this method would give you another way to assess intensity. Because it is impossible to measure flame length in situations such as crown fires, analyzing the diameter of burnt twigs may also help fire researchers when information on flame length is unavailable. Despain says his method also affords fire researchers more time to collect data.