LANDFIRE 2001 Refresh Fuel Loading Model (FLM) CONUS

The LANDFIRE (LF) 2001 Fuel Loading Model (FLM) classification system is based on unique sets of fuel characteristics that simplify the input of fuel loadings into fire effects models. FLMs can be used to simulate smoke emissions and soil heating. LF 2001 defines a ‘fuelbed’ as all combustible material below two meters (six feet) and above mineral soil. These fuels are commonly referred to as surface fuels and include live and dead herbaceous and shrub material, down woody material, duff, and litter. Fire behavior and fire effects are the result of the combustion process of the fuels. The information that is needed to classify fuelbeds to simulate fire behavior and fire effects is different. The size and spatial distribution of smaller diameter combustible material, for example, is important to fire behavior while fire effects are dependent on the intensity and duration of combustion of all fuels. This generalization suggests that a fuels classification system that emphasizes significant difference in fire behavior will not be the same as a classification that identifies differences in fire effects. The FLMs developed here were designed to uniquely identify significant differences in two fire effects: maximum surface soil heating and total PM2.5 emissions. The LF FLM product incorporated the inherent variability of fuel loading across and within fuel components and the resolution of a fire effects prediction model at the plot scale. The classes were developed using a multiple step process where maximum soil surface heating and total PM2.5 emissions were first simulated in First Order Fire Effects Model (FOFEM) for a large set of surface fuelbeds sampled across the United States. The simulated effects were then grouped into 10 Effects Groups using a statistical clustering routine. Each Effects Group describes a unique range of soil heating and emissions. Finally, classification tree analysis was used to predict duff, litter, Fine Woody Debris (FWD), and log load that resulted in the soil heating and emissions seen in each of the Effects Groups. Unlike other fuel classifications, the FLMs were designed so they can be easily keyed in the field from fuel load estimates. This makes them useful as map units for estimating fire effects across multiple spatial scales. Moreover, the classification methods can be used to build finer resolution fuel classifications for smaller areas using local data.

[
  "010:12"
]

[
  "geospatial"
]