Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team

NEWS FLASHES

Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) v. 2.0 Released

The Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS), version 2.0, has been released Enhancements include (1) user-specified environmental variables to predict surface fire behavior, including reaction intensity, flame length, and rate of spread, (2) crosswalks to one of the original 13 Fire Behavior Prediction System fuel models and one of the 40 standard fuel models (3) carbon storage report by fuelbed category and subcategory and predicts the amount of combustible carbon in each category and subcategory based on selected fuel moisture scenarios, (4) reporting in English and metric units, (5) ability for users to upload photos to represent each fuelbed, and (6) a batch mode to provide output on a set of multiple fuelbeds.

LANDFIRE FCCS Layer Available

LANDFIRE, which provides national-level, high-resolution geospatial products to support fire and fuels management planning, now includes a GIS layer that maps 229 FCCS fuelbeds across the western United States. Users will find it listed under the “Fire Effects” layers on the Landfire interactive website, or on the CD which can be requested. Expected users include regional modelers who need fine-resolution data, and managers responsible for consistent analysis and policy over large regions.

Field Crew Heads South for the Winter

FERA’s field crew is back on the road again, headed to Florida for January and February. They will collect pre-fire fuel loading and fuel consumption data to help validate fuel consumption models for the Eastern regions of the U.S. Later in the year, field work will move to more northern states. This work is funded by the Joint Fire Science Program and undertaken in collaboration with the Northern Research Station.

NEW PUBLICATIONS

Have It Your Way: Open Source Software Brings Common Ground to Smoke Management and Emissions Inventories

The October 2008 issue of the Joint Fire Science Program's Fire Science Briefs highlights the Fire Emission Production Model (FEPS). The emphasis is on the open source nature of FEPS, offering a fast and easy way for a variety of users with different levels of knowledge and experience to generate valid emissions and smoke transport prediction.
Full text [.pdf]

Global Warming and Stress Complexes in Forests of Western North America

This book chapter proposes that stress complexes (combinations of biotic and abiotic stresses) compromise the vigor and ultimate sustainability of forest ecosystems. Written by Don McKenzie, David L. Peterson, and Jeremy Littell, it has been published by Elsevier as part of the book "Wildland Fires and Air Pollution," part of the series "Developments in Environmental Science." It is now available in Europe, and will be published in the United States early in 2009.
Abstract [.html]

Evaluation of the Composite Burn Index for Assessing Fire Severity in Alaskan Black Spruce Forests

An evaluation of the composite burn index in Alaskan black spruce forests indicates it may be of limited potential for quantifying fire severity in these ecosystems, in particular organic layer consumption, which is an important factor to understand how ecosystems will respond to changing climate and fire regimes in northern regions. Roger Ottmar was one of 6 authors of this article in the International Journal of Wildland Fire.
Abstract [.html] Full text limited access [.pdf 1.1 MB][.html]

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