Field Guide for Identifying Fuel Loading Models

Résumé du livre

This report details a procedure for identifying fuel loading models (FLMs) in the field. FLMs are a new classification system for predicting fire effects from on-site fuels. Each FLM class represents fuel beds that have similar fuel loadings and produces similar emissions and soil surface heating when burned using computer simulations. We describe how to estimate fuel load in the field, match the load estimates to an appropriate FLM, and use the FLMs to predict smoke or soil heating that could result from burning those lands. The FLM names can also be used as fuel descriptors in other applications, including inputs into fire models for predicting fire effects, data layers for mapping fuel conditions, and supplements to vegetation data for more complete environmental descriptions to use in restoration or wildlife habitat planning.