# Presentation: 169448

## Fire and Fuel DynamicsOverview of NPS Fire, NPS/USGS Burn Severity, and LANDFIRE – Data available

- Fire and Fuel DynamicsOverview of NPS Fire, NPS/USGS Burn Severity, and LANDFIRE – Data available

- Kara Paintner     April 2005

## Overview

- For all data sets
- Who
- What
- Where
- And how it fits in Vital Signs
- Fire Ecology
- Burn Severity
- LANDFIRE

## Slide 3

## Slide 4

**Notes:**
22 park fire ecologists with field crews, 7 regional and 2 national positions
Park crews distributed based on prescribed fire and mechanical treatment work loads

## Fire Monitoring Protocols

- Monitor vegetation and fuels before, during and after prescribed fire
- Trend monitoring
- Fire Monitoring Handbook - 1996

## Data Conversion

- Fire Ecology Assessment Tool (FEAT) from FMH.EXE Software
- Conversion program released March 2005
- Most parks complete
- Legacy data is now in Access

## FEAT               forum.spatialdynamics.com

**Nate Benson**
- National Park Service

**Duncan Lutes**
- Systems for Environmental Management

**FEAT               forum.spatialdynamics.com**

**FIREMON              www.fire.org/firemon**

## Vegetation

- Trees, Shrubs and Herbaceous
- Density
- Cover
- Exotic and Native
- Species Richness
- Photopoints at set locations
- Permanent plots

**Notes:**
PWRO recognized the need to monitor in order to determine whether we are meeting our objectives.  Out of this need the PWRO developed FMH and a fire effects monitoring program.  This eventually evolved into a national program.

## Vital Sign Categories

- Biological Integrity
- Focal Species or Communities
- Invasive/Exotic plants
- Grassland vegetation
- Shrubland vegetation
- Forest vegetation
- Vegetation communities
- Terrestrial communities
- At-risk Biota
- T&E species and communities

## Slide 10

## Fire and Fuel Dynamics

- Dead and Down Fuel Loads
- Fuel Model
- Biomass
- Fire Severity
- Crown scorch
- Scorch height
- Vegetation and soil

## Spatial maps of fires 
some parks back to 1930s
most parks since 1970s
Tabular data for fire occurrence, size, date, etc...

- some parks back to 1930s
- most parks since 1970s
- Tabular data for fire occurrence, size, date, etc...

- Fire History

## Vegetation Mapping

- Added fuel sampling
- Fuel Models
- Tree Heights
- Height to Live Crown
- Canopy Cover
- Photos

## remotely sensed using    satellite imagery (Landsat)

landscape assessment    (30m x 30m pixel size    defines spatial resolution) 

“ground truthed” with a     process called Composite    Burn Index (CBI)

- landscape assessment    (30m x 30m pixel size    defines spatial resolution)
- “ground truthed” with a     process called Composite    Burn Index (CBI)

- Burn Severity

## http://burnseverity.cr.usgs.gov/fire_main.asp

Website for imagery, classified data and protocols
All fires greater than 300 acres on NPS
Fire atlas project ongoing 8 parks
nate_benson@nps.gov

- Website for imagery, classified data and protocols
- All fires greater than 300 acres on NPS
- Fire atlas project ongoing 8 parks
- nate_benson@nps.gov

- Burn Severity

## Slide 16

## Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS)

- All fires greater than 500 acres East and greater than 1,000 acres rest of US
- 2006-2010 fires: mapped and reported annually by 3rd Quarter of following fiscal year.
- 2000-2005 fires: mapped and reported by 3rd Quarter of FY 2008
- 1982-1999 fires: mapped and reported by 2nd Quarter of FY 2011

## Coarse Scale Data Layers – 2000Fire Regime Condition Class

- Coarse Scale Data Layers – 2000Fire Regime Condition Class

**Fire Regime Condition Class 1**
**Fire Regime Condition Class 2**
**Fire Regime Condition Class 3**
**Water**
**Ag & Non Vegetative Areas****  **

- Coarse-scale was designed for National strategic assessment & planning
- Should not be used for local assessment & planning

**Notes:**
This is the summary of area by fire regime group and condition class for all wildland ownerships across the lower 48.  Emphasize that the Coarse-scale was designed for National strategic assessment & planning.  It should not be used for local assessment & planning.  Because of the coarse pixel size and the inherently smaller scale nature of most uncharacteristic conditions the amount of condition class 2 & 3 have likely been underestimated.

## LANDFIRE

- five-year, multi-partner wildland fire, ecosystem, and wildland fuel mapping
- consistent, comprehensive maps and data describing vegetation, fire, and fuel characteristics across   the United States
- http://www.landfire.gov/index.html

## LANDFIRE Objectives

- Consistent, nationwide data to assist:
- Id of areas at risk due to accumulation of hazardous fuel
- Prioritize hazardous fuel reduction projects
- Improve coordination between agencies with regard to fire and other resource management
- Model real-time fire behavior to support tactical decisions to ensure sufficient wildland firefighting capacity and safety
- Model potential fire behavior and effects to strategically plan projects for hazardous fuel reduction and the restoration of ecosystem integrity on fire-adapted landscapes

## Rapid Assessment - CONUS

- Databases and models:
- 	Reference Condition Models
-  	Model Tracker Database
- Geospatial layers:
- 	Potential Natural Vegetation Groups
- 	Reference Fire Regimes
- 	Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC)
- 	Fire Regime Departure
- 	Succession Classes

## Slide 22

## National LANDFIRE Products

- FARSITE Fuel Layers
- LANDFIRE Fire Effects Models
- LANDFIRE Fire Regimes
- LANDFIRE Vegetation
- Environmental Site Potential – w/o disturbance
- Biophysical Settings – w natural processes
- Existing Vegetation
- Existing vegetation height
- Existing vegetation cover

## Slide 24

## LANDFIRE data needs

## ‘burning’ issues

- ‘burning’ issues

- Vegetation
- Land Cover and Land Use
- Fire and Fuel Dynamics
- Research

## Interested in Knowing More

- _[Kara_paintner@nps.gov](mailto:Kara_paintner@nps.gov)_
-  (970) 267-2121
- Your regional or park ecologists
- http://www.nps.gov/fire/fire/fir_eco_contacts.html