Metadata Record
                              Dublin Core Standard

Title:                   Fire Regime and Condition Class
Catalog Name:            California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
OID:                     756

                              CITATION INFORMATION
Identifier:              cafrcc
Title:                   Fire Regime and Condition Class
Originator:              CDF
Publication Date:        2003
Edition:                 03_2
Information Resource Type
 Format:                 Computer file
 Content:                Geographic information system
Scale:                   100m pixels
Other Citation Details:  Derived from FRAP Multi-source Land Cover data v02_2, 
                         FRAP Fire Rotation data v02_1, FRAP Fuel Rank data 
                         v02_2.   Map projection is Albers Equal Area, NAD27.

                           IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION
Abstract:                Wildfire can cause serious and long-lasting damage to 
                         ecosystems. Following National Fire Plan concepts, 
                         FRAP has utilized data specific to California to 
                         describe ecosystems and fire-related metrics used in 
                         other analyses to define and describe fire-related 
                         risks to ecosystems. Fundamental to this idea is that 
                         current expected fires are compared to historic fire 
                         regimes with respect to fire frequency, size and 
                         patchiness, and effects on key ecosystem elements and 
                         processes. Thus, these classes are then assigned based 
                         on current vegetation type and structure, an 
                         understanding of its pre-settlement fire regime, and 
                         current conditions regarding expected fire frequency 
                         and potential fire behavior. As a result of these 
                         efforts, Condition Classes were defined as the 
                         relative risk of losing key components that define an 
                         ecosystem (Hardy et al., 2001).

Browse Graphic URL:      http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/data/browsegraphic/cafrcc.gif
Purpose:                 Condition Class is a useful metric for determining 
                         relative risk of ecosystems  to damage or loss from 
                         wildfire.  As such, condition class is useful for 
                         determining areas in need of mitigation measures 
                         designed to improve ecosystem resilience and health 
                         when subjected to effects from wildfire.
Supplemental Info:       See FRAP Forest and Range 2003 Assessment on-line 
                         technical reports Trends in Wildland Fire and Wildfire 
                         Risk to Assets at http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/
                         assessment2003.
Time Period Start:       1/1/2003
Time Period End:         12/31/2003
Currentness:             Ground Condition
Progress:                In Work
Update Frequency:        Annually
Place:                   California
Themes:                  Chaparral ecology, Ecology, Fire ecology, Forest 
                         ecology, Fire, Wildfires
User Keywords:           fire history, firehistory
Access Limitations:      No Restrictions
Use Limitations:         FRAP disclaimer   Read disclaimer within data 
                         dictionary supplied when data are downloaded from FRAP 
                         site

                               Contact Information
Data Contact:            FRAP Fire & Fuel Specialist
Organization:            CDF-FRAP
Phone:                   916-445-5369
Fax:                     916-324-1180
Email:                   Dave.Sapsis@fire.ca.gov
Url:                     http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/
Address:                 1920 20th Street
                         1920 20th Street
City:                    Sacramento
State:                   California
Postal Code:             95814
Country:                 USA

                            DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION
Online Linkage:          http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/data/frapgisdata/select.asp
Size (MB):               36MB (Statewide)
Distribution Format:     ARC/INFO Export
Ordering Instructions:   Obtain on-line or request through distribution contact.

                               Contact Information
Distribution Contact:    FRAP data librarian
Organization:            CDF-FRAP
Phone:                   916-445-5342
Fax:                     916-324-1180
Url:                     http://frap.cdf.ca.gov
Address:                 1920 20th Street
                         1920 20th Street
City:                    Sacramento
State:                   California
Postal Code:             95814
Country:                 USA

                              METADATA INFORMATION
Date:                    11/14/2003

                               Contact Information
Metadata Contact:        FRAP Fire & Fuel Specialist
Organization:            CDF-FRAP
Phone:                   916-445-5369
Fax:                     916-324-1180
Email:                   Dave.Sapsis@fire.ca.gov
Url:                     http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/
Address:                 1920 20th Street
                         1920 20th Street
City:                    Sacramento
State:                   California
Postal Code:             95814
Country:                 USA


                 DATA DICTIONARY 
                 ===============

FEATURE TYPE: pixel

DATABASE FIELDS: pixel

             INPUT OUTPUT DATA DECI  
FIELD NAME   WIDTH WIDTH  TYPE MALS         DESCRIPTION
----------   ----- ------ ---- ---- ---------------------------------
VALUE          4     10     B   -
COUNT          4     10     B   -
WHRNUM         4     16     B   -   Unique number for whrtype
WHRNAME       40     35     C   -   Long name for whrtype
WHRTYPE        3      3     C   -   Wildlife hab relationship code
WHRSIZE        1      1     I   -   Whr tree size class code
WHRDENSITY     1      1     C   -   Whr tree density class code
FUEL_RANK      2      2     I   -   Potential Fire Behavior Rank
FROTCLASS      1      1     I   -   Historical Fire Rotation Class
CON_CLASS      1      1     I   -   Condition class 
REGIME        20     20     C   -   National Fire Regime class
REGIME_NUM     3      3     I   -   National Fire Regime class code
REGIME_CAL     3      3     I   -   California Fire Regime class


FIELD NAME: WHRNUM, WHRNAME, WHRTYPE

California Wildlife Habitat Relationships System (WHR) is 
"cross walked" from various sources, please review the 
document "Methods for Development of Habitat Acres Forest 
and Range Assessment 2003" on-line at 
http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/projects/frap_veg/index.html

WHRNUM WHRTYPE   WHRNAME                    
------ -------   -----------------------------
 1       ADS     Alpine-Dwarf Shrub
 2       AGR     Irrigated Agriculture
 3       AGS     Annual Grassland
 4       ASC     Alkali Desert Scrub
 5       ASP     Aspen
 6       BAR     Barren
 7       BBR     Bitterbrush
 8       BOP     Blue Oak-Foothill Pine
 9       BOW     Blue Oak Woodland
62       CHP     Undetermined Shrub Type
63       CON     Undetermined Conifer Type
10       COW     Coastal Oak Woodland
11       CPC     Closed-Cone Pine-Cypress
12       CRC     Chamise-Redshank Chaparral
13       CSC     Coastal Scrub
14       DFR     Douglas-Fir
15       DRI     Desert Riparian
17       DSC     Desert Scrub
18       DSS     Desert Succulent Shrub
19       DSW     Desert Wash
20       EPN     Eastside Pine
21       EST     Estuarine
77       EUC     Eucalyptus
22       FEW     Freshwater Emergent Wetland
24       JPN     Jeffrey Pine
25       JST     Joshua Tree
26       JUN     Juniper
27       KMC     Klamath Mixed Conifer
28       LAC     Lacustrine
29       LPN     Lodgepole Pine
30       LSG     Low Sage
31       MAR     Marine
32       MCH     Mixed Chaparral
34       MCP     Montane Chaparral
35       MHC     Montane Hardwood-Conifer
36       MHW     Montane Hardwood
37       MRI     Montane Riparian
72       PAS     Non-Irrigated Pasture
39       PGS     Perennial Grassland
40       PJN     Pinyon-Juniper
41       POS     Palm Oasis
42       PPN     Ponderosa Pine
43       RIV     Riverine
44       RDW     Redwood
45       RFR     Red Fir
48       SCN     Subalpine Conifer
49       SEW     Saline Emergent Wetland
50       SGB     Sagebrush
51       SMC     Sierran Mixed Conifer
53       URB     Urban
55       VOW     Valley Oak Woodland
56       VRI     Valley Foothill Riparian
57       WAT     Water
58       WFR     White Fir
59       WTM     Wet Meadow
	
	
FIELD NAME: WHRSIZE

California Wildlife Habitat Relationships System (WHR) Tree Size 
attribute is "cross walked" from various sources, please review 
the document "Methods for Development of Habitat Acres Forest and 
Range Assessment2003" on-line at 
http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/projects/frap_veg/index.html

TREE type size class code descriptions (Differs from SHRUB size)

WHRSIZE  DESCRIPTION	    DIAMETER AT BREAST HEIGHT (DBH)
-------  --------------     -------------------------------
  0      Not Determined     N/A
  1      Seedling           Less Than 1 inch
  2      Sapling            1 to 6 inches
  3      Pole               6 to 11 inches
  4      Small Tree         11 to 24 inches
  5      Medium/Large Tree  Greater Than 24 inches
  6      Multi-layered      Size 5 Over Size 4 Or 3; Total Tree Crown
                            Closure Greater Than 60%

CWHR Shrub Size Class Descriptions differ from Tree size attribute 
descriptions. FRAP staff used fire history to model CWHR habitat 
stages for shrub-dominated habitats. please review the document 
"Methods for Development of Habitat Acres Forest and Range 
Assessment 2003" on-line at 
http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/projects/frap_veg/index.html

SHRUB type size class code descriptions (Differs from Tree size)

WHRSIZE
(SHRUB)    DESCRIPTION	        CROWN DECADENCE
-------    ---------------      ----------------------------
   0       Not Determined        N/A
   1       Seedling Shrub        Seedlings or sprouts < 3 years
   2       Young Shrub           None
   3       Mature Shrub          1 - 25%
   4       Decadent Shrub        > 25%


FIELD NAME: WHRDENSITY

California Wildlife Habitat Relationships System (WHR) Density attribute 
is "cross walked" from various sources, please review the document 
"Methods for Development of Habitat Acres Forest and Range Assessment 
2003" on-line at http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/projects/frap_veg/index.html

WHRDENSITY      WHRDEN_NUM      DESCRIPTION (WHR_RANGE)
----------      ----------      -----------------------
                    0           None
    S               1           10 to 24%
    P               2           25 to 39%
    M               3           40 to 59%
    D               4           60 to 100%
		

FIELD NAME: FUEL_RANK

CDF has developed a Fuel Rank assessment methodology for
the California Fire Plan to identify and prioritize pre-fire projects
that reduce the potential for large catastrophic fire. The fuel ranking 
methodology assigns ranks based on expected fire behavior for unique 
combinations of topography and vegetative fuels under a given severe
weather condition (wind speed, humidity, and temperature). The procedure
makes an initial assessment of rank based on an assigned fuel model
(see surface fuels) and slope;then potentially increases ranks based
on the amount of ladder and/or crown fuel present to arrive at a final 
fuel rank. Initially developed at a 30 meter scale, this 100 meter 
representation of the data are combined with other data and used to 
identify wildfire threats. For more information visit:
http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/data/fire_data/fuel_rank/index.html

FUEL_RANK       DESCRIPTION
---------       ---------
  -1            Little or No Hazard
   1            Moderate
   2            High
   3            Very High


FIELD NAME: FROTCLASS

Fire rotation class intervals are calculated from fifty years of fire 
history on land areas grouped into "strata" based on fire environment 
conditions. These strata are defined by climate, vegetation, and land 
ownership. The Fire Rotation interval is the number of years it would 
take for past fires to burn an area equivalent to the area of a given 
stratum. Fire rotation interval for a given stratum is calculated by 
dividing the annual number of acres burned into the total area of 
the stratum. Finally, fire rotation values are grouped into classes. 
The larger fire rotation values correspond to less frequent burning. 
In contrast The higher the rotation class value is, the more frequent 
fire is in that strata. In the fire threat analysis, more frequent fire
is ranked higher to reflect a greater concern for non-fire tolerant 
assets such as housing.

FROTCLASS       DESCRIPTION             NUMBER OF YEARS
---------       ------------            ---------------
  0             Undetermined            Undetermined
  1             Moderate                > 300 Years
  2             High                    100 - 300 Years
  3             Very High               < 100 Years


FIELD NAME: CON_CLASS

Condition class refers to the general deviation of ecosystems from their 
presettlement natural fire regime (See REGIME and REGIME_CAL), and can 
be viewed as a measure of sensitivity to fire damage to key elements and 
processes typical of those ecosystems, or fire-related risk to ecosytem 
health.  Fundamental to this idea is that current expected fires are 
compared to historic fire regimes with respect to fire frequency, 
size and patchiness, and effects on key ecosystem elements and 
processes. Thus, these classes are then assigned based on current 
vegetation type and structure, an understanding of its pre-settlement 
fire regime, and current conditions regarding expected fire frequency 
and potential fire behavior. As a result of these efforts, Condition 
Classes were defined as the relative risk of losing key components that 
define an ecosystem (Hardy et al., 2001). The conceptual basis is that 
for fire-adapted ecosystems, much of their ecological structure and 
processes are driven by fire, and disruption of fire regimes leads to 
changes in plant composition and structure, uncharacteristic fire 
behavior and other disturbance agents (pests), altered hydrologic 
processes and increased smoke production. Condition Class 1 is associated 
with low level disruption of fire regime, and consequently low risk to 
loss or damage.  Condition Class 2 indicates some degree of 
departure from natural regimes, with assoicated changes in ecosystem 
composition and structure that render future fires a likelihood of
some loss and change in elements and processes.  Condition 
class 3 is highly divergent from natural regime conditions, and 
presents the highest level of risk of loss.

CON_CLASS        DESCRIPTION
---------        -----------
   1             Fire regime within or near historical range. Risk of 
                 key ecosystem component loss low.

   2             Fire regime moderately altered from historical range. 
                 Risk of key ecosystem component loss moderate.

   3             Fire regime significantly altered from historical 
                 range. Risk of key ecosystem component loss high.

   9             None Assigned (non-wildlands)


FIELD NAME: REGIME, REGIME_NUM

Fire regime refers to the pattern and variability of fire occurrence and
its effect on vegetation.  A simple statewide fire regime classification 
system provides an approximate idea of range in fire frequency and 
severity as it existed before European settlement. This classification 
is based on that developed in conjunction with the Coarse-Scale Condition 
Class assessment done for the National Fire Plan, modified from the 
USFS National Fire Plan Condition Class Assessment. (See
http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/fuelman/ and Hardy et al. 2001 for further 
detail.)  This classification, while highly generalized, can only 
illustrate coarse differences in fire regimes. However, the resulting 
analysis is appropriate given the statewide scale of inquiry, where 
broad differences in regimes point out significant implications for 
managing wildland fire at the regional scale (Hann and Bunnell, 2001). 
Regime is assigned based on current vegetation mapping, using WHR type 
as the independent variable. It should be noted that 
grassland/herbaceous dominated types that were previously mapped into 
Regime II have been assigned into Regime I in these data, due to 
their ability to resume most composition and structure in the first 
year following fire.

REGIME            REGIME_NUM    DESCRIPTION
------            ----------    --------------
  I                   1	        0-35 year fire frequency, low severity
  II                  2	        0-35 year frequency, high severity
  III                 3	        35-100+ year frequency, mixed severity
  IV                  4	        35-100+ year frequency, high severity
  V                   5	        200+ year frequency, high severity
  Urban             -28	        Urbanized land cover
  Agriculture       -97	        Agriculture
  Water             -98	        Water (including wetlands)
  Barren            -99	        Barren/Rock


FIELD NAME: REGIME_CAL

REGIME_CAL is a similar classification to the national regime 
classification above, but differs slightly in that a more complete 
set of frequency/severity combinations are included.

REGIME_CAL     DESCRIPTION
----------     -----------
   11          0-35 year frequency, low severity
   12          0-35 year frequency, mixed severity
   21          35-100 year frequency, low severity
   22          35-100 year frequency, mixed severity
   23          35-100 year frequency, high severity
   32          100+ year frequency, mixed severity
   32          100+ year frequency, high severity
  -28          Urbanized land cover
  -97          Agriculture
  -98          Water (including wetlands)
  -99          Barren


REFERENCES

Hann, W.J. and D.L. Bunnell. 2001. Fire and land management planning and 
    implementation across multiple scales.  International Journal of 
    Wildland Fire 10(3 & 4):389-403.

Hardy, C.C., K.M. Schmidt, J.P. Menakis, and R.N. Sampson. 2001. Spatial 
    data for national fire planning and fuel management. International 
    Journal of Wildland Fire 10(3 & 4):353-372.


                     COORDINATE SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

Projection               ALBERS
Datum                     NAD27
Units                    METERS             Spheroid      CLARKE1866
Parameters:
1st standard parallel                                   34  0  0.000
2nd standard parallel                                   40 30  0.000
central meridian                                       -120  0  0.00
latitude of projection's origin                          0  0  0.000
false easting (meters)                                       0.00000
false northing (meters)                                -4000000.0000



				DISCLAIMER

The State of California and the Department of Forestry 
and Fire Protection make no representations or warranties 
regarding the accuracy of data or maps.  The user will 
not seek to hold the State or the Department liable under 
any circumstances for any damages with respect to any 
claim by the user or any third party on account of or 
arising from the use of data or maps.

The user will cite the Department of Forestry and Fire 
Protection as the original source of the data, but will 
clearly denote cases where the original data have been 
updated, modified, or in any way altered from the 
original condition.  

There are no restrictions on distribution of the data 
by users. However, users are encouraged to refer others 
to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to 
acquire the data, in case updated data become available.