Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools (LANDFIRE), Earth Resources Observation and Science Center (EROS), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and Hatten, T.D., 2023, LANDFIRE 2022 (230) Update: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P974JF8W.
Summary
LANDFIRE (LF) 2022 Fuel Vegetation Cover (FVC) represents the LF Existing Vegetation Cover (EVC) product, modified to represent pre-disturbance EVC in areas where disturbances have occurred over the past 10 years. EVC is mapped as continuous estimates of canopy cover for tree, shrub, and herbaceous lifeforms with a potential range from 10% to 100%. Continuous EVC values are binned to align with fuel model assignments when creating FVC. FVC is an input for fuel transitions related to disturbance. Fuel products in LF 2022 were created with LF 2016 Remap vegetation in non-disturbed areas. To designate disturbed areas where FVC is modified, the aggregated Annual Disturbance products from 2013 to 2022 in the Fuel Disturbance (FDist) product [...]
Summary
LANDFIRE (LF) 2022 Fuel Vegetation Cover (FVC) represents the LF Existing Vegetation Cover (EVC) product, modified to represent pre-disturbance EVC in areas where disturbances have occurred over the past 10 years. EVC is mapped as continuous estimates of canopy cover for tree, shrub, and herbaceous lifeforms with a potential range from 10% to 100%. Continuous EVC values are binned to align with fuel model assignments when creating FVC. FVC is an input for fuel transitions related to disturbance. Fuel products in LF 2022 were created with LF 2016 Remap vegetation in non-disturbed areas. To designate disturbed areas where FVC is modified, the aggregated Annual Disturbance products from 2013 to 2022 in the Fuel Disturbance (FDist) product are used. All existing disturbances between 2013-2022 are represented in the LF 2022 update, and the products are intended to be used in 2023 (the year of release). The "capable" year terminology used in LF 2020 and LF 2016 Remap is no longer specified, due to reduction in latency from when a disturbance occurs to the release date of fuel products accounting for that disturbance. However, users should still consider adjusting fuel layers for disturbances that occurred after the end of the 2022 fiscal year (after October 1st, 2022) when using the LF 2022 fuel products. Because those changes would not be accounted for. Learn more about LF 2022 at https://landfire.gov/lf_230.php
The LANDFIRE 2022 Update (LF 2022) is designed to produce vegetation, disturbance, and fuels products that inform wildland fire and ecological decision systems. LF 2022 is another update to the LF 2016 Remap base map and LF 2020, it includes adjustments to vegetation and fuels in disturbed areas for disturbances recorded in 2021 and 2022. Disturbances in 2022 represent the first full fiscal year of disturbance. Transition rulesets for vegetation account for disturbances from 2017 to 2022 while fuel updates utilize 2012 to 2022 disturbances. In LF 2022 Existing Vegetation Type (EVT) Ecological Systems classifications are the same as LF 2020, except in areas where agriculture or urban areas have changed. LF 2022 contains the first application of the "zero to one" Time Since Disturbance (TSD) rules for EVC and EVH transition rules. Both LF Existing Vegetation Cover (EVC) and Height (EVH), as well as all fuels products, are 2023 capable in disturbed areas. LF 2022 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 30 meter 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.
