What is LANDFIRE? LANDFIRE is a collaborative, 5-year partnership involving the U.S. Forest Service, Department of the Interior and The Nature Conservancy. Launched in 2004 and designed to be nationally consistent, locally relevant, and based on peer-reviewed scientific methods, the project is generating landscape-scale maps and data describing vegetation, fire, and fuels characteristics across the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii). The LANDFIRE project consists of two phases: a Rapid Assessment and the National Implementation. The Rapid Assessment is now complete and provides a small suite of interim data products for the lower 48 states of the U.S. (see information below) which can be used until the full suite of National Implementation data are complete for the entire U.S. These data and models will help agencies and partners better manage ecosystems and protect communities.
For more information on LANDFIRE visit http://www.landfire.gov/ LANDFIRE data for conservation planning and action LANDFIRE National products comprise a set of more than 1,000 vegetation dynamics models and over 20 digital maps of vegetation composition and structure, wildland fuel (crown and surface), simulated historical fire regimes, and current departure from simulated historical vegetation conditions. LANDFIRE National procedures integrate relational databases, remote sensing, systems ecology, gradient modeling, and landscape simulation to create consistent and comprehensive products that are standardized across the entire U.S. LANDFIRE is currently delivering national products on an incremental basis through 2009.
Currently completed LANDFIRE data products are free and available online at http://www.landfire.gov/.
The technical report An Ecological Assessment of Fire and Biodiversity Conservation Across the Lower 48 States provides a series of recommendations for the Conservancy and its U.S. partners if we are to maintain and restore fire’s ecological roles in ecosystems, and, therefore, effectively conserve biodiversity. For more information, please contact the team at fire@tnc.org |