Multi-scale Mapping Of Fire Regime Condition Class

Why Map? Communication Guidebook characterizes FRCC but not spatially Spatially identify restoration opportunities

Why Develop a Tool? Most land managers lack GIS skills Many analytical tasks are repetitive Automation saves time, money, and reduces analytical errors Consistency & repeatability

Mapping Tool Objectives Compare existing condition to the reference condition Derive and spatially display departure indices Spatially identify restoration opportunities Report change necessary to mimic reference condition Conduct change detection between existing condition & proposed treatment ExcessiveSimilarDeficient Relative Amount

FRCC Mapping Tool Model inputs Spatial Data Biophysical setting (e.g., BpS) Existing condition of successional states (e.g., veg-fuel classes) Landscapes (e.g., reporting units) Tabular Data Reference condition table Landscape to BpS crosswalk Model outputs Spatial Data Veg-Fuel Class Percent Difference Veg-Fuel Class Relative Amount Veg-Fuel Condition Class: std level Veg-Fuel Class Departure Veg-Fuel Condition Class Landscape Departure Tabular Data Landscape Reports

Model Inputs Data Requirements –Continuous & consistent –Any scale (geographic extent & resolution) –Capable of discriminating BpS & Veg-Fuel classes Data Sources –Remote Sensing Satellite imagery Photo interpretation –Stand exam –Field-level mapping

Biophysical Settings (BpS)

Derivation of BpS PvtHfrBpS abgr1ms1PPDF1 abgr1ms2PPDF1 abgr1nlPPDF1 abgr2ms2DFIR2 abgr2sr1GFDF abgr3ms2GFDF abla1ms2SPFI1 abla2ms2SPFI1 abla2sr1SPFI1 abla3ms2SPFI1 abla3sr1SPFI1 abla4ms3SPFI2 abla4sr1SPFI2 drygrassiiMGRA1 dryshrubiiiMSHB1 fesidaiiMGRA2 fesscaiiMGRA1 lalyms3SPFI2 mesicshrubiiiMSHB1 pialms3SPFI2 Biophysical setting (PVT) Historical Fire Regime (HFR) 75 unique combinations in R1VMP PVT HFR

Vegetation-Fuel Class ( Structural Stage Class) Structure –Open –Closed Seral state –Early seral –Mid seral –Late seral

Derivation of Veg-fuel Class PVT HFR BpS Dominance type Size class Canopy cover class BpSDomSizeCanopyVegfuel PPDF1GFBgrass/forb a PPDF1IMXS0-5 in dbhhigha PPDF1IMXS0-5 in dbhlowa PPDF1IMXS0-5 in dbhmoderatea PPDF1IMXS10-15 in dbhhighb PPDF1IMXS10-15 in dbhlowc PPDF1IMXS10-15 in dbhmoderateb PPDF1IMXS15+ in dbhhighe PPDF1IMXS15+ in dbhlowd PPDF1IMXS15+ in dbhmoderatee PPDF1IMXS5-10 in dbhhighb PPDF1IMXS5-10 in dbhlowc PPDF1IMXS5-10 in dbhmoderateb } 4,500 combinations in R1VMP

Derivation of Veg-fuel Class - R1VMP SizeCanopy CoverVeg-fuel Class 0-5 in dbhallA – early seral 5-10 in dbh in dbh high (>60%)B – mid-seral; closed 5-10 in dbh in dbh low (10-25%) moderate (25-60%) C – mid-seral; open >15 in dbh low (10-25%) moderate (25-60%) D – late-seral; open >15 in dbhhigh (>60%)E – late-seral; closed **Except where PVT = PICO, PIFL, PIPO, PSME1

Landscapes Geographic units for deriving composition of veg-fuel classes for any given BpS Nested hierarchy; up to 3 levels Vary by BpS/Fire regime group HUC6HUC5 HUC4 HFR I and IIHFR IIIHFR IV and V

Landscapes (Reporting Units) Geographic units for deriving composition of veg-fuel classes for any given BpS Nested hierarchy; up to 3 levels Vary by BpS/Fire regime group HUC6HUC5HUC4 HFR I and II HFR III HFR IV and V

Reference Condition (HRV) Potential Natural Vegetation (BpS) Vegetation-fuel Class Composition Fire Regime Landscape Hierarchy CodeNameABCDE AAOWAlder-Ash (Oregon, Washington) IV3 CAMECalifornia Mixed Evergreen I1 CHDFCedar-Hemlock_Douglas-fir V3 CHPICedar-Hemock-Pine (Washington) IV3 DFIR1Douglas-fir Interior Pacific Northwest I1 DFIR2Douglas-fir Interior Rocky Mountains III2 FHWO1Fir-Hemlock (Washington, Oregon), Forest V3 GFDFGrand Fir-Douglas fir III2 LPSCLodgepole pine-Subalpine CA III2 MCANSouthwestern Mixed Conifer I1 Midpoint of HRV for veg-fuel classes Derived from VDDT Includes landscape hierarchy

Veg-Fuel Class Percent Difference The difference between existing veg-fuel class composition and the reference condition Indicates the veg-fuel classes that are most deficient to most excessive Most informative of all the indices Values: -100 to 100 Negative = too little; Positive = too much

Veg-Fuel Class Relative Amount Classification of the Percent Difference (lose information) Identifies excessive and deficient amounts of veg-fuel classes Suggests management scenarios –Maintain veg-class (similar) –Recruit veg-class (deficient) –Reduce veg-class (excessive) Trace Under RepresentSimilarOver Represent Abundant

Veg-Fuel Condition Class: Stand Level Classification of relative abundance Suggest management scenarios: –CC1 = maintain/recruit –CC2 = reduce –CC3 = reduce Useful for NFPORS reporting Percent Difference (%) Relative Abundance Std-level FRCC <25 Similar, Under Represented, Trace 1 25 to 75Over Represented2 >75Abundant3

Veg-Fuel Class Departure Signifies the overall departure across all vegetation-fuel classes within a BpS Values = 0 to 100 Useful for prioritizing BpSs for restoration

Veg-Fuel Condition Class (BpS-level) Classification of Veg-Fuel departure Stratified by BpS & landscape Represents the vegetation component of FRCC Vegetation-Fuel Departure (%) Vegetation-Fuel Condition Class < to 662 >663

Landscape Departure Area-weighted average of Veg- Fuel departure at lowest level of the landscape hierarchy Useful for prioritizing landscapes Values range between 0 and 100

Reports How much change is necessary to mimic the reference condition? What Veg-Fuel Classes need to be treated? Unique by landscape level

Where are we?? Completed 1 st round of beta-testing –Gila –Northern Region –Klamath Testing change detection Editing User Manual Release beta version in March

All models are wrong… …but some are useful. George E. P. Box