Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools (LANDFIRE), 2024, LANDFIRE 2023 Update (LF 2023): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9BJP7OV.
Summary
LANDFIRE's 2023 Update (LF 2023) Forest Canopy Bulk Density (CBD) describes the mass of available canopy fuel per unit canopy volume that would burn in a crown fire. A spatially explicit map of CBD supplies information used in fire behavior models to determine the spread characteristics of active crown fires across the landscape. CBD for disturbed and non-disturbed areas is determined via a general linear model (GLM) relating LF's Forest Canopy Height (CH) and Cover (CC) to CBD (Reeves et al 2009). To designate disturbed areas where CBD is modified, the aggregated Annual Disturbance products from 2014 to 2023 in the LF Fuel Disturbance (FDist) product are used. All existing disturbances between 2014-2023 are represented in LF 2023, [...]
Summary
LANDFIRE's 2023 Update (LF 2023) Forest Canopy Bulk Density (CBD) describes the mass of available canopy fuel per unit canopy volume that would burn in a crown fire. A spatially explicit map of CBD supplies information used in fire behavior models to determine the spread characteristics of active crown fires across the landscape. CBD for disturbed and non-disturbed areas is determined via a general linear model (GLM) relating LF's Forest Canopy Height (CH) and Cover (CC) to CBD (Reeves et al 2009). To designate disturbed areas where CBD is modified, the aggregated Annual Disturbance products from 2014 to 2023 in the LF Fuel Disturbance (FDist) product are used. All existing disturbances between 2014-2023 are represented in LF 2023, and the products are intended to be used in 2024 (the year of release). When using any product from the LF 2023 fuel product suite, users should consider adjusting fuel layers for disturbances that occurred after the end of the 2023 fiscal year (after October 1st, 2023). Disturbances that occurred after the end of the 2023 fiscal year are not accounted for within LF 2023 fuel products. Learn more about LF 2023 at https://landfire.gov/data/lf2023.
The LF 2023 Update (LF 2023, version 240) is the fourth update to LANDFIRE's new base map LF 2016 Remap (version 200) and will be releasing throughout calendar year 2024. LF 2023 products are designed to facilitate national and regional level strategic fire and resource management planning and reporting of management activities. The principal purposes of the products include providing: 1) national level landscape scale geospatial products to support fire and fuels management planning and 2) consistent fuels products to support fire planning, analysis, and budgeting to evaluate fire management alternatives. Products are created at a 30meter raster; however, the applicability of products varies by location and specific use. LF products were designed to support 1) national (all states) strategic planning, 2) regional (single large states or groups of smaller states), and 3) strategic/tactical planning for large sub regional landscapes and Fire Management Units (FMUs) (such as significant portions of states or multiple federal administrative entities). The applicability of LF products to support fire and land management planning on smaller areas will vary by product, location, and specific use. Managers and planners must evaluate LF products according to the scale and requirements specific to their needs.