User Created Edit Rule Guidance

Introduction

IFTDSS Landscapes are supplied by LANDFIRE. Regardless of what tool you use - IFTDSS or a GIS - the basics of editing fuels for treatment planning are really about understanding the LANDFIRE fuel data and how changes to that fuel data impact fire behavior.

About Making Your Own Landscape Edits

It is important to note that landscape features are independent of each other. For example, editing one feature such as Fuel Model, will not change the other features such as canopy height cover, etc. Each of these features must be edited separately.

The most important part of editing fuel models and canopy characteristics is understanding that you are really making edits to show the resulting fire behavior, not necessarily what the vegetation ‘looks’ like. The resultant fire behavior has to make sense to you. If it does not, then the edits are not appropriate for your situation and need to be adjusted. Run the fire behavior before and after editing and evaluate whether the resulting fire behavior is what you would expect. This may take a number of iterations, some trial and error, and probably some discussion with your silviculturist or another colleague that is familiar with your fuel types and the effects of treatments.

Editing landscape data is a bit of an art and a lot of ‘gut feeling’. Currently, there are no courses or training materials that teach the details of landscape editing. The best resources are often colleagues that are familiar with your fuel types and the effects of treatments. However, the resources below may also be helpful.

Resources

Fuel Model Resources

• Scott and Burgan 40 Fuel Models Guide

• Original 13 Fuel Models Guide

• Downloadable spreadsheet to compare fuel models

Canopy Features

• Canopy Fuel Characteristics of Conifer Forests (8 pgs)

• Stereo Photo Guide for Estimating Canopy Fuel Characteristics in Conifer Stands

Evaluating Edits

• NWCG Fire Behavior Field Reference Guide , section on Landscape Acquisition, Critique, and Editing : Basic information on representing disturbance.

• LANDFIRE Fuels Data Acquisition, Critique, Modification, Maintenance, and Model Calibration : Editing resources with some examples.

• Modifying LANDFIRE Geospatial Data for Local Applications

• LANDFIRE Additional Documentation on Editing Rules

About using Landscape Edit Rules

The same need for evaluating fire behavior when using your own rules applies to using Default Edit rules. The Default Edit rules can save time by allowing you to make the changes you think will occur with a particular treatment. Default Edit rules implement landscape edits to represent a specific treatment, from there, you can evaluate what the fire behavior looks like and decide if you agree or need re-evaluate.

It is a best practice to evaluate your landscape changes and fire behavior after applying a Default Edit rule, to ensure that the landscape features and fire behavior are what you would expect.

Currently, Default Rules are not available for LANDFIRE landscape versions 2016 and later. The team is working on adding updated rules for later landscapes.

Reproducing Default Edit Rules

It is difficult to apply the User Created Edit Rules to same effect as the Default Edit Rules because the Default rules are based on other settings and characteristics in the LANDFIRE data that are more complex than what the User Created Edit Rules offer. Below is some additional info and a couple ways to approaching that.

The IFTDSS Default Edit Rules are driven by LANDFIRE Look-up Rules, based on LANDFIRE veg type, cover, height, and the lcp features. While the description in IFTDSS generally summarizes what the rule does, there’s bound to be some variation or other details based on modeled tree growth after the disturbance.