,This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. Most investigators studying grasslands have assumed that the low standing biomass of the SGS created a system with a low probability of carrying fire, and thus a minimal historical role of fire. Nonetheless, there are years with aboveground biomass equivalent to the mixed grass prairie, and a high frequency of lightening storms. Regardless of the historical role of fire in SGS, there are new questions regarding its utility in managing for the presence of the threatened mountain plover, which only nests in areas of low plant biomass. United States Forest Service, Pawnee National Grassland recently initiated a burning program in the mid 1990s to address questions about using fire to increase plover habitat; we have collected data on some of these plots to investigate the influence of fire on SGS vegetation. Several datasets were created between 1999 and 2004 by SGS-LTER researchers, including measurements of shrub and cactus mortality rates, aboveground net primary production, amounts of litter and standing dead, and aboveground nitrogen dynamics in burned and control plots in the western section of the Pawnee National Grassland. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/83326.,,

,This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. Most investigators studying grasslands have assumed that the low standing biomass of the SGS created a system with a low probability of carrying fire, and thus a minimal historical role of fire. Nonetheless, there are years with aboveground biomass equivalent to the mixed grass prairie, and a high frequency of lightening storms. Regardless of the historical role of fire in SGS, there are new questions regarding its utility in managing for the presence of the threatened mountain plover, which only nests in areas of low plant biomass. United States Forest Service, Pawnee National Grassland recently initiated a burning program in the mid 1990s to address questions about using fire to increase plover habitat; we have collected data on some of these plots to investigate the influence of fire on SGS vegetation. Several datasets were created between 1999 and 2004 by SGS-LTER researchers, including measurements of shrub and cactus mortality rates, aboveground net primary production, amounts of litter and standing dead, and aboveground nitrogen dynamics in burned and control plots in the western section of the Pawnee National Grassland. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/83326.,,

LANDFIRE's (LF) 2022 Canopy Base Height (CBH) supplies information used in fire behavior models to determine the critical point at which a surface fire will transition to a crown fire in conjunction with other environmental factors, such as wind speed and moisture content. CBH data are continuous from 0 to 9.9 meters (to the nearest 0.1m) and describe the lowest point in a stand where there is enough available fuel (0.25in diameter) to propagate fire vertically through the canopy. Critical CBH is defined as the lowest point at which the Canopy Bulk Density (CBD) is .012kg m-3. Under different scenarios of disturbance and based on previous research incorporating plot-level CBH calculations, CBH for disturbed areas is determined via a set of linear equations relating Canopy Height (CH) and Canopy Cover (CC) to CBH. Linear equations for these calculations are derived from Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) scenario outputs. In LF 2022, fuel products are created with LF 2016 Remap vegetation in areas that were un-disturbed in the last ten years. To designate disturbed areas where CBH is modified, the aggregated Annual Disturbance products from 2013 to 2022 in the Fuel Disturbance (FDist) product are used. All existing disturbances between 2013-2022 are represented in the LF 2022 update, and the products are intended to be used in 2023 (the year of release). The "capable" year terminology used in LF 2020 and LF 2016 Remap is no longer specified, due to reduction in latency from when a disturbance occurs to the release date of fuel products accounting for that disturbance. However, users should still consider adjusting fuel layers for disturbances that occurred after the end of the 2022 fiscal year (after October 1st, 2022) when using the LF 2022 fuel products. Because those changes would not be accounted for. Learn more about LF 2022 at https://landfire.gov/lf_230.php

LANDFIRE's (LF) 2022 Canopy Base Height (CBH) supplies information used in fire behavior models to determine the critical point at which a surface fire will transition to a crown fire in conjunction with other environmental factors, such as wind speed and moisture content. CBH data are continuous from 0 to 9.9 meters (to the nearest 0.1m) and describe the lowest point in a stand where there is enough available fuel (0.25in diameter) to propagate fire vertically through the canopy. Critical CBH is defined as the lowest point at which the Canopy Bulk Density (CBD) is .012kg m-3. Under different scenarios of disturbance and based on previous research incorporating plot-level CBH calculations, CBH for disturbed areas is determined via a set of linear equations relating Canopy Height (CH) and Canopy Cover (CC) to CBH. Linear equations for these calculations are derived from Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) scenario outputs. In LF 2022, fuel products are created with LF 2016 Remap vegetation in areas that were un-disturbed in the last ten years. To designate disturbed areas where CBH is modified, the aggregated Annual Disturbance products from 2013 to 2022 in the Fuel Disturbance (FDist) product are used. All existing disturbances between 2013-2022 are represented in the LF 2022 update, and the products are intended to be used in 2023 (the year of release). The "capable" year terminology used in LF 2020 and LF 2016 Remap is no longer specified, due to reduction in latency from when a disturbance occurs to the release date of fuel products accounting for that disturbance. However, users should still consider adjusting fuel layers for disturbances that occurred after the end of the 2022 fiscal year (after October 1st, 2022) when using the LF 2022 fuel products. Because those changes would not be accounted for. Learn more about LF 2022 at https://landfire.gov/lf_230.php

Burn severity layers are thematic images depicting severity as unburned to low, low, moderate, high, and increased greenness (increased post-fire vegetation response). The layer may also have a sixth class representing a mask for clouds, shadows, large water bodies, or other features on the landscape that erroneously affect the severity classification. This data has been prepared as part of the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) project. Due to the lack of comprehensive fire reporting information and quality Landsat imagery, burn severity for all targeted MTBS fires are not available. Additionally, the availability of burn severity data for fires occurring in the current and previous calendar year is variable since these data are currently in production and released on an intermittent basis by the MTBS project.,

LANDFIRE's 2023 Update (LF 2023) Forest Canopy Base Height (CBH) supplies information used in fire behavior models to determine the critical point at which a surface fire will transition to a crown fire in conjunction with other environmental factors (such as wind speed and moisture content). CBH data is continuous from 0 to 9.9 meters (to the nearest 0.1m) and describe the lowest point in a stand where there is enough available fuel (0.25in diameter) to propagate fire vertically through the canopy. Critical CBH is defined as the lowest point at which the Forest Canopy Bulk Density (CBD) is .012kg m-3. Under different scenarios of disturbance and based on previous research incorporating plot-level CBH calculations, CBH for disturbed areas is determined via a set of linear equations relating Forest Canopy Height (CH) and Cover (CC) to CBH. Linear equations for these calculations are derived from Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) scenario outputs. To designate disturbed areas where CBH is modified, the aggregated Annual Disturbance products from 2014 to 2023 in the LF Fuel Disturbance (FDist) product are used. All existing disturbances between 2014-2023 are represented in LF 2023, and the products are intended to be used in 2024 (the year of release). When using any product from the LF 2023 fuel product suite, users should consider adjusting fuel layers for disturbances that occurred after the end of the 2023 fiscal year (after October 1st, 2023). Disturbances that occurred after the end of the 2023 fiscal year are not accounted for within LF 2023 fuel products. Learn more about LF 2023 at https://landfire.gov/data/lf2023

LANDFIRE's 2023 Update (LF 2023) Forest Canopy Base Height (CBH) supplies information used in fire behavior models to determine the critical point at which a surface fire will transition to a crown fire in conjunction with other environmental factors (such as wind speed and moisture content). CBH data is continuous from 0 to 9.9 meters (to the nearest 0.1m) and describe the lowest point in a stand where there is enough available fuel (0.25in diameter) to propagate fire vertically through the canopy. Critical CBH is defined as the lowest point at which the Forest Canopy Bulk Density (CBD) is .012kg m-3. Under different scenarios of disturbance and based on previous research incorporating plot-level CBH calculations, CBH for disturbed areas is determined via a set of linear equations relating Forest Canopy Height (CH) and Cover (CC) to CBH. Linear equations for these calculations are derived from Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) scenario outputs. To designate disturbed areas where CBH is modified, the aggregated Annual Disturbance products from 2014 to 2023 in the LF Fuel Disturbance (FDist) product are used. All existing disturbances between 2014-2023 are represented in LF 2023, and the products are intended to be used in 2024 (the year of release). When using any product from the LF 2023 fuel product suite, users should consider adjusting fuel layers for disturbances that occurred after the end of the 2023 fiscal year (after October 1st, 2023). Disturbances that occurred after the end of the 2023 fiscal year are not accounted for within LF 2023 fuel products. Learn more about LF 2023 at https://landfire.gov/data/lf2023

LANDFIRE's (LF) 2022 update (LF 2022) Existing Vegetation Height (EVH) represents the average height of the dominant vegetation for a 30-m cell. EVH is produced separately for tree, shrub, and herbaceous lifeforms using training data depicting the weighted average height by species cover and Existing Vegetation Type (EVT) lifeform. Decision tree models using field reference data, lidar, and Landsat are developed separately for each lifeform, then lifeform specific height class layers are merged along with land cover into a single EVH product based on the dominant lifeform of each pixel. EVH ranges are continuous for the herbaceous lifeform category ranging from 0.1 to 1 meter with decimeter increments, 0.1 to 3 meters for shrub lifeform, and 1 to 99 meters for tree lifeform. If the height values of each lifeform exceed the continuous value range, they are binned into the appropriate maximum height class. EVH is then reconciled through QA/QC measures to ensure lifeform is synchronized with Existing Vegetation Cover (EVC). Urban and developed areas are derived from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD), and the latest available Microsoft Building Footprint dataset. Agricultural lands originate from the 2022 Cropland Data Layer (CDL) and the 2019 California Statewide Crop Mapping layer. Disturbance events after 2016 are accounted for by incorporating transition rulesets using LF 2022 Fuel Disturbance (FDist). LF uses EVH as an input for LF 2022 Fuel Vegetation Height (FVH).

LANDFIRE's (LF) 2022 update (LF 2022) Existing Vegetation Height (EVH) represents the average height of the dominant vegetation for a 30-m cell. EVH is produced separately for tree, shrub, and herbaceous lifeforms using training data depicting the weighted average height by species cover and Existing Vegetation Type (EVT) lifeform. Decision tree models using field reference data, lidar, and Landsat are developed separately for each lifeform, then lifeform specific height class layers are merged along with land cover into a single EVH product based on the dominant lifeform of each pixel. EVH ranges are continuous for the herbaceous lifeform category ranging from 0.1 to 1 meter with decimeter increments, 0.1 to 3 meters for shrub lifeform, and 1 to 99 meters for tree lifeform. If the height values of each lifeform exceed the continuous value range, they are binned into the appropriate maximum height class. EVH is then reconciled through QA/QC measures to ensure lifeform is synchronized with Existing Vegetation Cover (EVC). Urban and developed areas are derived from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD), and the latest available Microsoft Building Footprint dataset. Agricultural lands originate from the 2022 Cropland Data Layer (CDL) and the 2019 California Statewide Crop Mapping layer. Disturbance events after 2016 are accounted for by incorporating transition rulesets using LF 2022 Fuel Disturbance (FDist). LF uses EVH as an input for LF 2022 Fuel Vegetation Height (FVH).

LANDFIRE's (LF) 2022 update (LF 2022) Existing Vegetation Height (EVH) represents the average height of the dominant vegetation for a 30-m cell. EVH is produced separately for tree, shrub, and herbaceous lifeforms using training data depicting the weighted average height by species cover and Existing Vegetation Type (EVT) lifeform. Decision tree models using field reference data, lidar, and Landsat are developed separately for each lifeform, then lifeform specific height class layers are merged along with land cover into a single EVH product based on the dominant lifeform of each pixel. EVH ranges are continuous for the herbaceous lifeform category ranging from 0.1 to 1 meter with decimeter increments, 0.1 to 3 meters for shrub lifeform, and 1 to 99 meters for tree lifeform. If the height values of each lifeform exceed the continuous value range, they are binned into the appropriate maximum height class. EVH is then reconciled through QA/QC measures to ensure lifeform is synchronized with Existing Vegetation Cover (EVC). Urban and developed areas are derived from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD), and the latest available Microsoft Building Footprint dataset. Agricultural lands originate from the 2022 Cropland Data Layer (CDL) and the 2019 California Statewide Crop Mapping layer. Disturbance events after 2016 are accounted for by incorporating transition rulesets using LF 2022 Fuel Disturbance (FDist). LF uses EVH as an input for LF 2022 Fuel Vegetation Height (FVH).