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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 18(3)

LANDFIRE: a nationally consistent vegetation, wildland fire, and fuel assessment

Matthew G. Rollins
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

US Geological Survey, Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS), Sioux Falls, SD 57198, USA. Email: mrollins@usgs.gov

International Journal of Wildland Fire 18(3) 235-249 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF08088
Submitted: 29 May 2007  Accepted: 1 July 2008   Published: 28 May 2009

Abstract

LANDFIRE is a 5-year, multipartner project producing consistent and comprehensive maps and data describing vegetation, wildland fuel, fire regimes and ecological departure from historical conditions across the United States. It is a shared project between the wildland fire management and research and development programs of the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service and US Department of the Interior. LANDFIRE meets agency and partner needs for comprehensive, integrated data to support landscape-level fire management planning and prioritization, community and firefighter protection, effective resource allocation, and collaboration between agencies and the public. The LANDFIRE data production framework is interdisciplinary, science-based and fully repeatable, and integrates many geospatial technologies including biophysical gradient analyses, remote sensing, vegetation modelling, ecological simulation, and landscape disturbance and successional modelling. LANDFIRE data products are created as 30-m raster grids and are available over the internet at www.landfire.gov, accessed 22 April 2009. The data products are produced at scales that may be useful for prioritizing and planning individual hazardous fuel reduction and ecosystem restoration projects; however, the applicability of data products varies by location and specific use, and products may need to be adjusted by local users.


Acknowledgements

For all their hard work on the LANDFIRE project, I thank: Ann Wolf, Birgit Peterson, Brendan Ward, Chris Toney, Donald Long, Greg Dillon, James Napoli, Jeff Natharius, Jennifer Bushur, Jody Bramel, Julia Lippert, Karen Iverson, Katrina Kreyenhagen, Kevin Ryan, Kristine Lee, Lisa Holsinger, Marc Weber, Matt Reeves, Maureen Mislivets, Sean Parks, Thomas Thompson, and Tobin Smail, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station; Chris Winne, Christine Frame, Deborah Lissfelt, Heather Kreilick, John Caratti, Karen Short, and Stacey Romeo, Systems for Environmental Management; Jim Smith, Kori Blankenship, Randy Swaty, Darren Johnson, The Nature Conservancy; Brian Tolk, Donald Ohlen, Kurtis Nelson, Jim Vogemlann, Jay Kost, Russell Johnson, Xuexia Chen, USGS National Center for Earth Resources Observation Sciences; Henry Bastian, Department of Interior, Office of Wildland Fire Management; Bruce Jeske, Daniel Crittenden, USDA Forest Service Washington Office, and Zhiilang Zhu, USDA Forest Service Research and Development. I also thank Bernhard Bahro, Don Yasuda, and Larry Hood, USDA Forest Service Region 5, for preparing and making available the map used as Fig. 3.


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