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FRCC and FRCC Departure Index data products now available: External review has been completed, and these data products are now available on the National Map LANDFIRE.

Background & Advice:

The Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC) and FRCC Departure Index data products were held back for posting while required methods and input data and vegetation models were refined.

As an index of ecological departure, FRCC can be displayed at different spatial and temporal scales. Users should recognize the intended use of FRCC products (www.frcc.gov) and apply them to the appropriate scale. The intended use of FRCC is to categorize ecological departure. The LANDFIRE National FRCC layer is a coarse- to mid-scale depiction intended for state, regional, and national applications. This deliverable is produced by mapping zone and should be used to summarize condition class for a state or larger area. Applying this product to areas smaller than a state is not appropriate and may display inaccurate condition class trends. FRCC values are very scale-dependent.

FRCC should be derived locally for users interested in characterizing condition class for scales finer than those appropriate for LANDFIRE data (such as national parks, reservations, refuges, BLM districts, or national forests). Deriving FRCC locally involves using the LANDFIRE Biophysical Settings (BpS) and Succession Class (SClass) data products. These layers are inputs to the FRCC Mapping Tool, which can be downloaded through www.fire.org > NIFTT > Downloads. Local mapping of FRCC is best conducted using the FRCC Map Tool because:

• Rather than summarizing for subsections, reporting units that are more spatially appropriate can be used for determining the composition of succession classes;
• Smaller reporting units may better depict vegetation departure attributable to uncharacteristic seral states, such as exotics or non-native communities; and
• Estimates of departure may be derived for the landscape, biophysical setting, and stand levels.

The resulting products from the FRCC Mapping Tool can then be appropriately applied to local units for purposes such as Fire Management Planning, Land Use Planning, and other landscape analyses. Generally, FRCC derived locally using the FRCC Mapping Tool best describes ecological departure at finer scales.

As with all geospatial products, users are responsible for understanding the accuracy, resolution, and intended uses of the data. Questions regarding these components can be directed to the LANDFIRE helpdesk at helpdesk@landfire.gov.

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