Fire Behavior Assessment Team: plot photographs

Metadata:

Data_Quality_Information:

Attribute_Accuracy:

Attribute_Accuracy_Report:

Relatively consistent photography standards were used, however, field observers taking photos were different each year, so some differences in methods do occur.

Logical_Consistency_Report:

Over the years, some of the names assigned to the fires has varied. Sweatfarm is synonmous with GA Bay Complex and Big Turnaround Complex. The Tatanka complex is also synonymous with the Maple/Buffalo fires. The Bake and Oven fires were part of the Bar Complex and were sampled during the same tour as the Orleans Complex, so these data from these fires are often named BarOrleans. The Somes fire was part of the Orleans Complex and was sampled the same tour as the Bar Complex, so data from this fire is also often named BarOrleans.

Filename structure for these photos are pretty consistent. However, there are a few cases where a slightly different structure was used. More details are provided below.

Completeness_Report:

All available data are provided. There are missing data, reasons are generally that time or safe conditions were not present. Also, data were not taken post-fire if plots did not burn.

Lineage:

Methodology:

Methodology_Type: Field

Methodology_Description:

Generally the field observer taking the photo stood approximately 8-10 feet back from the transect end in order to capture the transect end in the photo. Photos were taken in portrait orientation with the horizon approximately in the middle of the photo, or framed such that both the surface and much of the lower to mid canopy fuels are in the photo. Transect photos were generally taken from the 0-foot to 50-foot direction along each transect, and also the reverse (50-foot to 0-foot). (Note: there are a few cases where photos were taken landscape, however this was somewhat unintentional.)

In later years, to assist with matching pre- to post-fire photos, the pre-fire photos were printed and taken into the field for the observer to use to align the post-fire camera field of view exactly with the pre-fire photo.

The photos were taken in each position (0-foot and 50-foot for each transect) once pre-fire and once post-fire. The pre-fire photos were generally taken 1 to 5 days before the plot burned. The post-fire photos were generally taken 1 to 5 days after the plots burned to allow fuels to consume and cool before field crews re-entered the plot area. Generally, two photos were taken for each transect. In earlier years, plots had 1 fuels transect, and in later years, 3 transects. All transect photos taken are included in this data package, if photos are not available, those data are missing.

Exact dates of photos are not know, but below is a list of the fire names sorted by the year the fire occurred.

2003:
Black Mt II

2005:
Crag WFU

2006:
Ralston
Warm
BarOrleans (Bake and Oven Fires were part of the Bar Complex and were sampled during the same tour as the Orleans Complex, so data is often named BarOrleans. Somes Fire was part of the Orleans Complex and was sampled the same tour as the Bar Complex, so data is often named BarOrleans)

2007:
Antelope Complex
GA Bay Complex (also referred to as Sweatfarm)

2008:
Clover

2011:
Lion

2013:
Aspen
Rim

2014:
Beaver
French
King

2015:
Rough
Willow

2016:
Buffalo (also referred to as Tantanka or Tantanka Complex)
Cedar
Maple (also referred to as Tantanka or Tantanka Complex)

2017:
Pier
Schaeffer

2019:
Walker

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

No process steps have been described for this data set

Process_Date: Unknown

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

Overview_Description:

Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:

This data publication contains a series of pre- and post-fire photos of the different plots and transects included in the FBAT database, along with some supplemental files.

DATA FILES

\Data\YYYY_*LOCATION*\*LOCATION*_P#T#_*ORIENTATION*_pre.jpg
Joint Photographic Expert Graphic (JPEG) files containing a pre-fire photo of the specified plot (P#) and transect (T#) for the fire (*LOCATION*) taken from a particular orientation (*ORIENTATION*) in the specified year (YYYY).

\Data\YYYY_*LOCATION*\*LOCATION*_P#T#_*ORIENTATION*_post.jpg
JPEG files containing a post-fire photo of the specified plot (P#) and transect (T#) for the fire (*LOCATION*) taken from a particular orientation (*ORIENTATION*) in the specified year (YYYY).

For all of these files:

*LOCATION* = name/location of fire: Antelope, Aspen, Beaver, Bake, BlackMnt, Buffalo, Cedar, Crag, Clover, French, GABayBigTurnAround, King, Lion, Maple, Oven, Pier, Ralston, Rim, Rough, Schaeffer, Somes, Walker, Warm, Willow. (Note: Over the years, some of the names assigned to the fires has varied. Sweatfarm is synonmous with GA Bay Complex and Big Turnaround Complex. The Tatanka complex is also synonymous with the Maple/Buffalo fires. The Bake fire, Oven fire, Somes fire, Bar Complex, and Orleans Complex are all also referenced as BarOrleans. To help prevent confusion the folder names include all relevant names.)

*ORIENTATION* = where the photos were taken from: E (east), N (north), S (south), W (west), 50-0 (50 foot end of the transect facing the 0 foot end, 0-50 (0 foot end if the transect to the 50 foot end).


Note: There are some cases where filenames are slightly different.

For Bar Complex (Bake and Oven fires) and Orleans Complex (Somes fire), sometimes an azimuth is noted as the transect orientation rather than 0-50 or 50-0, and sometimes an upper/lower or a/b is used to denote different plots and transects. For Black Mountain photos, the plots were named ‘dense’ and ‘open’ as these plots were some of the first taken when methods were still in flux. Black Mountain plots only had one fuels transect each. For Crag, and GA Bay / Big Turnaround, some photos were taken along cardinal directions as well as along transects. Warm fire photos include some directional photos taken from the plot center or video camera location in addition to transect photos for additional documentation. For plots 1 to 4 of the Rim fire, the photos were not taken along the fuels transects like the other plots, but along the transects set up between rate of spread sensors, in which the layout is similar, and positions are named after, a baseball diamond. For these plots, if the photo was taken from ‘first base’ to ‘second base’, the photo name includes ‘1-2’; and if the photo was taken from ‘first base’ to ‘home plate’ the photo name includes ‘1-H’. (Please see information in the Forest Service Research Data Archive, available in approximately April 2020, regarding the rate of spread data and methods.


SUPPLEMENTAL FILES

\Supplements\FBAT_Plot_Layout.pdf: Adobe Acrobat PDF/a file containing a diagram of the FBAT plot layout along with a brief list of key method changes throughout the years FBAT has taken data to present (2020). The diagram depicts (not to scale) the lengths and directions of the fuel transects in relation to the various fire behavior sensors installed on plots. The summary of methods changes highlights namely differences in subsampling, i.e. the number of fuel transects or rate of spread sensors used.

Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:

none provided

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20210602

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: USDA Forest Service, Washington Office Business Operations

Contact_Person: Alicia Reiner

Contact_Position: Fire Ecologist

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical

Address: Suite 201, 160 Holdsworth Way UMASS

City: Amherst

State_or_Province: MA

Postal_Code: 01002

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 530-559-4860

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: alicia.reiner@usda.gov

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station

Contact_Person: Matthew Dickinson

Contact_Position: Research Forest Ecologist

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical

City: Deleware

State_or_Province: OH

Postal_Code: 43015

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 740-368-0096

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: matthew.b.dickinson@usda.gov

Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001.1-1999