Examining and Reforming the Rothermel Surface Fire Spread Model under No-Wind and Zero-Slope Conditions for the Karst Ecosystems
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The manuscript titled: “Examining and reforming the Rothermel surface fire spread model under no-wind and zero-slope conditions for the Karst ecosystems” aims to modify the Rothermel surface fire spread model for the Karst ecosystems in China. The manuscript is well-organized as a peer-review paper; The writing is easy-to-read; the materials and methods is clearly explained and the results are well presented.
The main questions may arise here is:
- According to the explained experimental design and indoor survey condition, it seems that there was the capability of implementing different slope classes. Why did you skip the effect of slope% on the ROS?
The influence of the other factors on SOR were ignored to reduce the errors and simplify the model. On the other had this simplification reduces the efficiency of the model application in the natural stands.
Author Response
The manuscript titled: “Examining and reforming the Rothermel surface fire spread model under no-wind and zero-slope conditions for the Karst ecosystems” aims to modify the Rothermel surface fire spread model for the Karst ecosystems in China. The manuscript is well-organized as a peer-review paper; The writing is easy-to-read; the materials and methods is clearly explained and the results are well presented.
The main questions may arise here is:
According to the explained experimental design and indoor survey condition, it seems that there was the capability of implementing different slope classes. Why did you skip the effect of slope% on the ROS?
The influence of the other factors on SOR were ignored to reduce the errors and simplify the model. On the other had this simplification reduces the efficiency of the model application in the natural stands.
Answer：Thank you very much for your question. The laboratory can indeed conduct research on the impact of slope on ROS. As you mentioned, only analysis the ROS model under no-wind and zero-slope conditions will reduces the efficiency of the model application in the natural stands. However, the main purpose of this study is to analyze the applicability of the Rothermel model in the Karst ecosystem and make corrections. The Rothermel’s fire spread model under the condition of no wind on the flat ground () gives the measure of the combustibility of fuels, which serves as the basic value for calculating the ROS under wind and slope conditions. Only by analyzing the applicability of the basic model and obtaining an appropriate model form can it be more meaningful for the next research, therefore, this study only focuses on no-wind and zero-slope conditions.
After verifying the applicability of the Rothermel model and obtaining a suitable mdoel through this study, we will proceed with the study of rate of spread with wind and slope, and will incorporate slope and wind coefficients into the model, which will meaningful in natural stands.
The section has also been added in the Discussion. Thank you again for your question and suggestion.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
I have expressed my necessary corrections and suggestions on the ARTICLE. I must state that the article will become more understandable and useful by taking into account the necessary arrangements and improvements. The introduction and discussion part needs some further development.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
I have expressed my necessary corrections and suggestions on the ARTICLE. I must state that the article will become more understandable and useful by taking into account the necessary arrangements and improvements. The introduction and discussion part needs some further development.
Answer：Thank you very much for your comments and suggestions. All comments in the pdf file (forests-2343185-review) have been revised one by one in the manuscript.
1. P35 There is an error in the reference, it should be corrected.
Answer: Thank you for you correction, it has been corrected.
2. P96 1 There should be a space after the dot.
Answer: Thank you for your advice, all similar issues in the entire manuscript have been modified.
3. P106 It would be more beneficial to use the region or work area with the corner coordinate data in the country overview.
Answer: Thank you for your advice, it has been modified in the manuscript.
4. P112 1 acre = 4046.86 m2 must be, in this case 25.82x25.82 = 666.67 m2 how many acres? Could there be a mistake in the calculation?
Answer: Thank you, i’m so sorry for the translation error here, it shoud be mu (the area is 666.67 m2) and has been modified in the manuscript.
5. P118 .. this word should be corrected as should...
Answer: Thank you, it has been modified.
6. P121I think this statement is wrong, leaves cannot be igniter, they are the material that is ignited or ignited first or the fastest by the ignition source that causes the fire to start.
Answer: Thank you, it has been modified as : “As the main component of litter, leaves are also the main carrier of forest fires.”
7. P138 How mineral ocntent and effective mineral content were calculated, what they mean, should be expressed in detail in the text and by showing the source. There is no information about this in Zhang 2022.
Likewise, how the heat value was determined should be expressed in detail.
Answer: Thank you, Reference Zhang 2022 contains some particle density values, therefore cited.
For each tree species, The measurement method of the mineral content is accurately weigh 3g of leaves and place the sample in a muffle furnace at 450 ℃ for 24 h to obtain ash, the mineral content is calculated as the ratio of mineral (ash) mass to total oven-dry weight.
The effective mineral content represents the ratio of mineral content (silica free) to total oven-dry weight, so it is necessary to determine the content of silica in mineral content (ash). the measurement method is shown in the literature.
The heat value represents the heat released by the complete burning of a unit mass of leaf in an absolute oven-dry state, the measurement method is shown in EN 14918:2009 Solid biofuels (Determination of calorific value).
These physical and chemical properties indicators were measured 3 times and the arithmetic mean value was used as the final value.
8. P193 the second point should be removed
Answer: Thank you, it has been removed.
9. P212 How heat content was determined in the context of species should be explained.
Answer: Thank you for your advice, it has been added in the manuscript.
10. P254 There may be a general error in the representation of figures in the text. For example, I think there should be a space after the dot in here "fig. 3" .
Answer: Thank you, it has been modified.
11. P271 What is the reason for this should be discussed with the literature.
Answer: Thank you, it has been added in the discussion with literature.
12. P277 it is not compatible with the table, there seems to be something missing? should it be verified? According to the table, values between 0.024-0.093 appear.
Answer: Sorry for the writing error, it should be 0.024 - 0.093, and has been modified, thank you.
13. it shows as 21.57 in table 3? which one is right?
Answer: Sorry for the writing error, it should be 21.56%, and has been modified, thank you.
14. Species should be given in the bottom line
Answer: Thank you, it has been added.
15. It is easier to understand if the MRE % values in the whole text are given as a decimal with 1 digit (or as an integer) after the point.
Answer: Thank you for your advice, it has been modified in the whole manuscript.
16. P314 Is there any literature on this subject? If anyone confirms this information, it should be given as a source here.
Answer: Thank you, it has been rewritten and added literature.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
