About LANDFIRE ›› Project Components ›› LANDFIRE National

The Wildland Fire Leadership Council (WFLC) sanctioned national implementation of LANDFIRE in 2003. A national organizational structure, a project plan, and associated schedule were developed. Transition from the LANDFIRE Prototype began immediately, and the LANDFIRE technical teams at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory (MFSL), USGS Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) developed strategies and procedures for building on the approaches used in the LANDFIRE Prototype. The project also included a Rapid Assessment phase prior to implementation of LANDFIRE National — click here for details.

LANDFIRE data products are designed to facilitate national- and regional-level strategic planning and reporting of wildland fire management activities. LANDFIRE National is mapping the entire United States on an incremental basis, and maps for the entire nation will be completed in 2009. Please visit the Data Products: LANDFIRE National section of this website for more information.

Main improvements incorporated into national implementation include:

• A solidified agreement for Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) involvement with LANDFIRE
• An agreement with the Student Conservation Association for collecting field data for areas where data do not already exist to be used in the LANDFIRE reference database and for independent accuracy assessment and quality control
• A custom framework for storing, manipulating, and analyzing the LANDFIRE reference database
• Incorporation of custom topographic products from the USGS Elevation Derivatives for National Applications (EDNA) Program
• Custom applications for developing simulation units for weather and ecosystem simulation and for modeling historical fire regimes
• Agreements with NatureServe for developing floristically based rule sets for assigning LANDFIRE vegetation map units to plots in the LANDFIRE reference database
• Agreements with The Nature Conservancy to develop models of vegetation dynamics for simulating historical reference conditions and evaluating the status of current landscapes
• Refinement of the Interagency Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC) Guidebook methodologies for calculating and mapping FRCC
• Inclusion of new fire behavior fuel models in wildland fuel mapping

LANDFIRE National data products include:

• All geospatial data needed to run the FARSITE, FlamMap, and FOFEM models
• Maps of vegetation structural stages, canopy density, and canopy height classes
• Maps of existing and potential vegetation
• Maps of simulated historical fire regimes (frequency and severity)
• Maps of surface and canopy fuel
• Maps of fuel loading models and fuel characterization classes (awaiting scientific peer review)
• Maps of fire regime condition class
• All geospatial data needed for custom FRCC applications

National delivery of LANDFIRE data products will occur incrementally over five years as follows: