Fuels Planning: Science Synthesis and

Integration

Environmental Consequences Fact Sheet: 2

First Order Fire Effects Model

(FOFEM)

United States

Department

of Agriculture

Forest Service

Rocky Mountain

Research Station

Research Note

RMRS-RN-23-2-WWW

September 2004

What Is the First Order Fire Effects Model (FOFEM)?

First order fire effects are the immediate impacts of fire on soils, fuels, and vegetation. These form an important basis for predicting secondary fire effects such as

plant regeneration, plant succession, weed invasion, and changes in site productivity. FOFEM 5.2 is a simple, yet versatile computer program that predicts first

order fire effects using text and graphic outputs. It is national and has been widely

used in project planning, environmental assessment, and broad-scale analysis of

the impacts of surface fire on tree mortality, fuel consumption, mineral soil exposure, smoke production, and soil heating. It uses four geographical regions: Pacific

West, Interior West, Northeast, and Southeast. Vegetation types provide an additional level of resolution within each region. FOFEM can be used in a variety of

situations. Examples include: determining acceptable upper and lower fuel moistures for conducting prescribed burns; determining the number of acres that may be

burned on a given day without exceeding particulate emission limits; comparing predicted fuels reduction for alternative prescribed burn scenarios; and predicting the

effects of wildland fire. FOFEM was developed at the Missoula Fire Sciences Lab

with funds provided by the interagency Joint Fire Science Program and the USDA

Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station.

What Inputs Are Needed to Run FOFEM?

Realistic default values have been provided for many inputs, minimizing the data

required. FOFEM 5.2 also has a user interface that allows the user to choose or

alter inputs, make model runs, and file the output. It can also interact with other

software products, link to GIS, and generate a large number of model runs.

What Are the Outputs of FOFEM?

Tree mortality (below)óFOFEM predicts fire-caused tree mortality from bark

thickness and crown volume scorched. Bark thickness depends upon tree species

and diameter at breast height (d.b.h.), while crown volume scorched depends

upon scorch height, tree height, and crown base height. To predict tree mortality,

Fuels planning: Science synthesis and integration, an interagency research/management

partnership to support the Ten-Year Fire Plan,

led by Russell T. Graham, RMRS, and Sarah

M. McCaffrey, NCRS.

Synthesizing

Scientific Information

for Fire and Fuels

Project Managers

Pacific Northwest

Research Station

Environmental Consequences

Team Leader

Elaine Kennedy Sutherland

USDA Forest Service

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Missoula, MT

Steve Sutherland

USDA Forest Service

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Fire Sciences Laboratory

Missoula, MT
The Fuels Planning fact sheets are based on preliminary findings. Information from fact sheets will be synthesized in an upcoming publication.

users enter a tree list or stand table describing species,

diameter, height, crown ratio, and trees per acre.

How Do You Get FOFEM 5.2?

FOFEM 5.0 can be downloaded from: www.fire.org and

documentation is included in the help system.

Fuel consumption (right)—FOFEM predicts fuel consumption for duff, litter, 0–1⁄4 inch, 1⁄4–1 inch, 1–3 inch, >3 inch

dead woody fuels (sound and rotten), herbs, shrubs,

and canopy fuels affected by crown fire. Mineral soil

exposed by litter and duff consumption is also predicted.

Soil heating (right)—The soil heating model

produces graphs of predicted temperature

at varying depths and highlights temperatures that exceed 60 degrees Celsius, the

lethal temperature for living organisms. The

report also includes the maximum temperature reached at the soil surface, amount

of duff consumed, soil type, and starting

soil moisture.

Minutes

0 100

300

0

T

e

m

p

(

o

C)

Lines represent temperatures at 1 centimeter intervals, starting at soil surface.

Smoke emissions (left)—FOFEM produces a report with separate estimates for flaming and

smoldering combustion for each fuel component. These estimates are summed to produce

predictions of total emissions for PM2.5, PM10,

CH4, CO, CO2, NOx and SO2, as well as burn

duration.

For More Information

Reinhardt, E. 2003. Using FOFEM 5.0 to estimate

tree mortality, fuel consumption, smoke production

and soil heating from wildland fire.

Reinhardt, E. D.; Keane, R. E.; Brown, J. K. 1997.

First Order Fire Effects Model: FOFEM 4.0, userís

guide. General Technical Report INT-GTR-344.

Environmental Consequences Fact

Sheets

Look for fact sheet topics from the Environmental Consequences

Team including information about the effects of fire behavior and

alternative treatment strategies, Wildlife Response Model, weed responses, riparian systems, soil erosion, restoration objectives, treated

spaces, the Fire Effects Information System (FEIS), and the First

Order Fire Effects Model (FOFEM).

Fuels Planning: Synthesis and Integration

This fact sheet is one in a series being produced as part of a larger

project supported by the USDA Forest Service to synthesize new

knowledge and information relevant to fire and fuels management.

Fact sheets address topics related to stand structure, environmental

impacts, economics, and human responses to these factors. Information in the fact sheets is targeted for the dry forests of the Inland

West, but is often applicable across broad regions of the country.

For more information, please visit our Web site at:

www.fs.fed.us/fire/tech_transfer/synthesis/synthesis_index