Title:

Fuelscape datasets for wildfire risk assessment in the sagebrush biome (270m)

Author(s):

Short, Karen C.; Scott, Joe H.; Gilbertson-Day, Julie W.; Napoli, James M.; Olszewski, Julia H.; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Brown, Jessi L.; Crist, Michele R.; Ellsworth, Lisa M.; Reeves, Matthew C.; Strand, Eva K.; Tortorelli, Claire M.; Urza, Alexandra K.; Vaillant, Nicole M.

Publication Year:

2024

How to Cite:

These data were collected using funding from the U.S. Government and can be used without additional permissions or fees. If you use these data in a publication, presentation, or other research product please use the following citation:

Short, Karen C.; Scott, Joe H.; Gilbertson-Day, Julie W.; Napoli, James M.; Olszewski, Julia H.; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Brown, Jessi L.; Crist, Michele R.; Ellsworth, Lisa M.; Reeves, Matthew C.; Strand, Eva K.; Tortorelli, Claire M.; Urza, Alexandra K; Vaillant, Nicole M. 2024. Fuelscape datasets for wildfire risk assessment in the sagebrush biome (270m). Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2024-0004

Abstract:

The foundation of quantitative wildfire hazard or risk assessment is a current-condition fuelscape (i.e., fuel and terrain layers), ideally updated to account for recent disturbances and calibrated to reflect the fire behavior potential observed in recent historical wildfire events. This data publication provides the fuelscape generated for a wildfire risk assessment focused on the sagebrush biome of the western United States (US). The data depict ca. 2020 fuel conditions, after customization, to better reflect expected fire behavior in sagebrush ecosystems, including influences from exotic annual grass (e.g., cheatgrass) invasion and conifer (e.g., pinyon, juniper) encroachment. These data are presented as used for biome-wide geospatial fire modeling at a 270-meter resolution. The work was conducted using simulation units called “pyromes,” which represent areas of relatively homogenous contemporary fire regimes. The sagebrush biome is represented by 31 pyromes, covering about 450 million acres in total area. Fuelscapes for the 31 pyromes are included in this data product as separate multiband GeoTIFFs. The bands of each GeoTIFF store eight layers of data that describe terrain (aspect, elevation, slope), tree canopy (cover, height, base height, bulk density), and surface fuel (FBFM40). These data form the Landscape (LCP) file commonly used by US wildland fire behavior modeling systems (e.g., FlamMap, FSPro, FSim). Each fuelscape dataset includes a 30-kilometer buffer to avoid truncating the simulated fires at pyrome boundaries. A shapefile and geopackage containing the boundaries and size of each pyrome are also included.

Keywords:

geoscientificInformation; Ecology, Ecosystems, & Environment; Fire; fuelscape; fire behavior ; fuel model; sagebrush biome; Joint Fire Science Program; JFSP; western United States; Washington; Oregon; California; Idaho; Montana; North Dakota; South Dakota; Wyoming; Colorado; Utah; Nevada; Arizona; New Mexico

Related publications:

• Chambers, Jeanne C.; Reeves, Matthew C.; Short, Karen C.; Urza, Alexandra K.; Hanberry, Brice; Ellsworth, Lisa M.; Strand, Eva K.; Lacy, Katherine; Taylor, Michael. 2023. Using next generation fuels data and outcome-based metrics in fire risk assessments for high value resources in the sagebrush biome. Joint Fire Science Program Final Report. JFSP # 19-2-02-11. (Report is included in full data publication download: \Supplements\19-2-02-11_final_report.pdf). https://www.firescience.gov/projects/19-2-02-11/project/19-2-02-11_final_report.pdf
• Short, Karen C.; Dillon, Gregory K.; Scott, Joe H.; Vogler, Kevin C.; Jaffe, Melissa R.; Olszewski, Julia H.; Finney, Mark A.; Riley, Karin L.; Grenfell, Isaac C.; Jolly, W. Matthew; Brittain, Stuart E. 2023. Spatial datasets of probabilistic wildfire risk components for the sagebrush biome (270m). Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2023-0050

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