Fuel Mapping - Wildland Fuel Fundamentals and Applications - page 148

Chapter 9
Fuel Mapping

Knowing where things are, and why, is essential to rational
decision making
Jack Dangermond, ESRI

9.1 Introduction

Since 1990, major advances in computer software and hardware have enabled
development of spatially explicit fire growth models, thereby revolutionizing fire
management decision support systems (Xiao-rui et al. 2005 ; Ball and Guertin 1992 ;
Keane et al. 1998b ). However, these complex spatial models demand detailed,
high-resolution digital maps of surface and crown fuel characteristics to generate
accurate and consistent fire behavior predictions (Pala et al. 1990 ). The commonly
used FARSITE fire growth model, for example, requires five fuel layers to simulate
surface and crown fire growth and intensity (Finney 1998 ). Early efforts at map-
ping fuels did not describe the physical aspects of the fuelbed, but rather interpreted
resultant fire behavior if the fuels burned and how difficult it would be to suppress
that fire, then mapped those attributes (Hornby 1936 ). With advancing computer
technology, most fuel maps were developed to meet the input requirements of fire
models (Keane et al. 1998a ).
Fuel maps are now used in nearly all phases of fire management from planning
to operational analysis at multiple organizational and spatial scales (Rollins 2009 ).
Coarse scale fuel maps are integral to global, national, and regional fire danger
assessment to more effectively plan, allocate, and mobilize suppression resources
at weekly, monthly, and yearly evaluation intervals (Burgan et al. 1998 ; De
Vasconcelos et al. 1998 ). Regional fuel maps are also useful as inputs for simulating
regional carbon dynamics, smoke scenarios, and biogeochemical cycles (Kasischke
et al. 1998 ; Leenhouts 1998 ; McKenzie et al. 2007 ), while finer scale subregional
fuel layers are critically needed to rate ecosystem health (Keane et al. 2007 ), identi-
fying fuel treatment locations (Agee and Skinner 2005 ), evaluating fire hazard and
risk for land management planning (Hessburg et al. 2010 ), and aiding in environ-
mental assessments and fire danger programs (Chuvieco and Salas 1996 ). However,