Dynamic Fuels & Fire System

Brief Description:

The Dynamic Fire System simulates fire ignition, initiation, spread, and damage. Fire ignition and initiation follow Yang et al. 2004. Fire spread rates uses the equations from the Canadian Forest Fire Behavior Prediction System (FBPS; Forestry Canada Fire Danger Group 1992) and are dependent upon fuel type, weather, and topography. Weather data are input as comma-separated text files containing data compiled directly from weather stations. Actual spread across the landscape follows the elliptical algorithms from Mark Finney, similar to those found in FARSITE. The extension has the flexibility to accommodate fuel types from throughout the world. Mortality from fires generally follows the behavior of previous LANDIS fire extensions.

The Dynamic Fire System extension must be used in conjunction with a fuel extension. The Dynamic Fuels extension uses cohort species and age-ranges to determine a fuel type for each cell on the landscape. The fuel types should match the fuel types created in the Dynamic Fire System extension. Prescriptions from the Base Harvest extension and mortality from the BDA extension can optionally cause fuel types to change.

An alternative fuels extension that classifies fuel types based on species biomass is now available. See the Dynamic Biomass Fuel System extension.

Developers: Brian R. Sturtevant & Brian R. Miranda, U.S. Forest Service; Robert M. Scheller, University of Wisconsin-Madison (now Conservation Biology Institute); Doug Shinneman, The Nature Conservancy;

Lineage: Released for LANDIS-II

How to cite: Sturtevant, B.R., R.M. Scheller, B.R. Miranda, D. Shinneman. A.D. Syphard. In preparation.