Resources to Support Large Area Analyses: LANDFIRE

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Resources T0 Support Large  Area Analyses: LANDFIRE The Nature Conservancy TNC LANDFIRE Team Jim Smith, Jacksonville FL Kori Blankenship, Bend OR Sarah Hagen, Minneapolis MN Jeannie Patton, Boulder CO Randy Swaty, Marquette MI

Collaborators US Dept. of the Interior, Office  of Wildland Fire Coordination US Forest Service, Fire and  Aviation Management The Nature Conservancy, North  American Science Team

Presentation Purpose • Inform, or perhaps remind you  about the existence of LANDFIRE, • describe the current status of  the products, what is underway,  and future plans, • provide some examples of  application in the non-fire  communities—convince you  LANDFIRE is not just about 

LANDFIRE Project • Products • spatial layers, • vegetation models, and • GIS tools

• Complete coverage of U.S.,  ecologically and geographically,  all downloadable • Spatial data and tools applicable  (OOTB) at national, regional and  very large landscape scales

LANDFIRE Project Spatial Layers (30m raster) ca 2000 • Vegetation • Current Vegetation Type [Ecological  Systems] • Current %Cover, • Current Height, • Historic Vegetation Type [ES] • Site Potential [ES]

• Fuel (FBFM + 6) • Fire Regimes (Succession Class +  7)

LANDFIRE Project Vegetation Models • Dynamic state-and-transition models of  Pre-European settlement condition for  more than 1000 unique vegetation types  [ES]

Supporting GIS Tools  • Developed primarily by the National  Interagency Fuels and Vegetation  Technology Team (NIFTT) • Preprocessing of spatial data • Computation of indices • Local editing

Responsive to Users • Added invasive species/exotic  identification • Updated Western states for large  fires since 2000 (Rapid Refresh) • Remapped vegetation and related  layers in the Great Basin area  after learning of a systematic  mapping issue

LANDFIRE Program • Objective is to maintain and improve the  benefits originally created by in the  LANDFIRE Project by updating vegetation  related layers that change/evolve through  time, • Still funded primarily by the federal fire  community, but through TNC we are working to  expand the application of LANDFIRE beyond  fire. • Currently “Refreshing” the data to bring  it to the circa 2008 time period, including  “change” information identified via remote 

Future Plans • Periodically update vegetation and  downstream layers (1 or 2 year  cycle) • Improve processes and overall  product quality based upon user  feedback (AARs) • Consider adding new products based  upon user needs and collaboration • Increase outreach, communications  and technology transfer  activities—in the nonfire arena 

Some Non-fire  Applications

Need more information? www.landfire.gov: official Program  website, product descriptions,  download products, etc. www.niftt.gov: for learning about and  downloading tools www.conservationgateway.org; learn  about LANDFIRE, unique applications,  interesting resources twitter.com/#!/nature_LANDFIRE ;  follow us on Twitter

Take Home Messages • Data/information is often the  limiting factor in landscape  planning and analysis, especially as  the area of interest increases in  size • Large area analysis will become more  common as organizations think  “ecosystems” and “landscapes” • LANDFIRE can provide thematically  rich, cross ownership, large  landscape scale spatial data,  vegetation models and tools to