LANDFIRE ›› Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q.	How does LANDFIRE use Ecological Systems for mapping both potential and existing vegetation, given existing national definitions of biophysical settings and existing vegetation?

LANDFIRE National uses NatureServe's Ecological Systems as a starting point for developing vegetation map units for both existing and potential vegetation. Current Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) vegetation classification standards apply only to the physiognomic characteristics of vegetation. No FGDC standards currently exist for vegetation mapping. Furthermore, no interagency standards exist to guide the development of potential vegetation map unit classifications. The U.S. Forest Service defines potential natural vegetation as "the vegetation...that would become established if all successional sequences were completed without interference by man under the present climatic and edaphic conditions." In LANDFIRE, this is analogous to environmental site potential (ESP), which we define as the vegetation that would become established at late or climax stages of successional development in the absence of disturbance, given the current climate and physical environment. Alternately, the concept of potential vegetation can include an approximation of historical disturbance regimes. This disturbance-influenced potential is referred to in LANDFIRE as biophysical settings (BpS).

Existing vegetation represents the dominant vegetation that currently exists in an area. The mechanics behind the use of Ecological Systems as a starting point for developing EVT and PVT classifications are described in the response to the question "How does LANDFIRE use Ecological Systems to map environmental site potential (ESP), biophysical settings (BpS), and existing vegetation type (EVT)?"

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