LANDFIRE 2023 Anderson Fire Behavior Fuel Model (FBFM13) AK
Dates
Publication Date
2024-12-18
Time Period
2023
Citation
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) 13 Anderson Fire Behavior Fuel Models (FBFM13) product represents distinct distributions of fuel loadings found among surface fuel components (live and dead), size classes, and fuel types (Anderson 1982). The fuel models are described by the most common fire carrying fuel type (grass, brush, timber, or slash), loading and surface area-to-volume ratio by size class and component, fuel bed depth, and moisture of extinction. LF FBFM13 can be used for fire spread related characteristic models. To create the FBFM13 product, expert rulesets were developed to understand how different types of disturbance would change pre-disturbance fuel models to post disturbance fuels, based on the severity and time since [...]
Summary
LANDFIRE's 2023 Update (LF 2023) 13 Anderson Fire Behavior Fuel Models (FBFM13) product represents distinct distributions of fuel loadings found among surface fuel components (live and dead), size classes, and fuel types (Anderson 1982). The fuel models are described by the most common fire carrying fuel type (grass, brush, timber, or slash), loading and surface area-to-volume ratio by size class and component, fuel bed depth, and moisture of extinction. LF FBFM13 can be used for fire spread related characteristic models. To create the FBFM13 product, expert rulesets were developed to understand how different types of disturbance would change pre-disturbance fuel models to post disturbance fuels, based on the severity and time since disturbance. These rulesets are represented in the LF Total Fuel Change (LFTFC) Tool and Database. In LF 2023, non-disturbed fuels are the same as LF 2016 Remap for natural vegetation. To designate disturbed areas where FBFM13 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.