Summarize and Assess the Landscape

Displaying and Assessing the Landscape

Start assessing the landscape in Map Studio:

  1. Use the Landscape Tools widget Landscape Tools widget to check the landscape under the "Add to Map" tab. This adds the landscape to the map and the map's Layer List.

    Landscape Tools adds landscapes to map studio

  2. Open the Layer List widget Layer List widget, ensure your landscape is checked, and view the landscape layers by clicking the drop-down arrow to the left of the checkbox. You can check and uncheck the landscape layers to view. You'll want to look at the fuel models to make sure they correspond to what your seeing on the ground in this area, so ensure that box is checked.
  3. View the legend for each layer by clicking the drop-down arrow to the left of the checkbox for that layer. In this case, check the box next to "Fuel Models", then click on the arrow to the left of the checkbox to drop-down to the Fuel Model layer legend.

  4. Click the Identify widget indentiry in the upper right corner of the page to view more information for each pixel. Select the layer to view (Granite Creek LF2014 Unedited), then click on the landscape in an area you'd like to know more about. The "Identify information box" populates with the landscape information for this pixel. For example, by clicking you can see that the green-blue pixels on the map correspond to areas of Fuel Model 188 (TL8). Continue examining various areas of interest on the landscape to learn more about what fuel models are present and where. Notice that all of the landscape characteristics come up in the Identify box when you click on the landscape with the Identify widget indentiry, not just the characteristic you specified in your Layer List.

    use the identify tool for more information

Adjust Transparency

It may be helpful to adjust the transparency of the layer to better see roads, landscape characteristics, and other map features. To do this, click More Options more options to the right of the Landscape name in Layer List. A drop-down menu of options opens. Choose Transparency, which opens a slider bar allowing you to adjust the transparency level for that layer. Once satisfied with the level of transparency, close the slider bar by clicking the More Optionsmore options button.

transparency can be set using the more options icon to the right of each layer

Adding Reference Layers

Before doing a full assessment of the landscape characteristics, you’ll want to view previous fires that may have occurred in this area:

  1. Click the Add Layers widget add layers at the bottom of the screen, and make sure the "IFTDSS Reference Layers" tab is selected. You'll notice there are many options for additional data layers, including "Ownership" and "Critical Habitat Areas."
  2. For now, focus on disturbance history. Click the drop-down arrow next to "Disturbance History" and use the checkbox to select "Historic Fuel Treatment Polygons." Next, expand the drop-down for "Disturbance History - Historic Wildfire Perimeters", and select the perimeters for years 1990-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2012, 2013, and 2014. These appear in the Layer List and on the map.

  3. Use the Identify widget identifybto identify the exact year of the Rabbit Creek and Bannock fires. Click the applicable Fire Perimeter layers on and off to compare the landscape and fuel models underneath. In this example you see they are reflective of these fires.

    use 'add reference data' to add historic disturbance information

Follow this same process with the Historic Fuel Treatment Polygons layer as well.

After doing an assessment of all the landscape characteristics (Elevation, Slope, Aspect, Canopy Cover, Stand Height, Canopy Base Height and Canopy Bulk Density) you determine that the LANDFIRE 2014 data in this landscape reflects existing conditions, including previous fires. If there had been a more recent disturbance since this 2014 data was produced, such as a fire or fuels treatment that you would want to represent on this landscape, it could be easy represented by creating a polygon using the Create/Edit Shapes widget add edit shapes to reflect the disturbance area, then using the Landscape Editing task in the planning cycle to make changes to that area and save them. More information on Landscape editing is available in Landscape Editing.

Next, run a summary report and compare these fuel models with potential landscape fire behavior.

Summarizing the Landscape

Creating a Automatic 97th Percentile Landscape Fire Behavior (Auto97th) Report, makes the outputs available in Map Studio, and summarizes behavior and landscape features in a downloadable report with tables and charts. It also creates a model output layer that can be viewed in Map Studio. To create these:

  1. Click on Planning Cycle in the top navigation.

  2. The cycle opens on the Landscape Evaluation stage by default, from there click the Landscape Summary task.

    landscape summary will summarize features and auto97th fire behavior

  3. In Landscape Summary, click the drop-down menu next to Select Landscapes. If the newly created landscape doesn’t appear in the drop-down, use the Refresh button refresh button after giving the landscape a short time to process. The landscape appears with a green check next to it (which indicates it has downloaded completely to your IFTDSS account). If you wanted to create a report just for an Area of Interest, you'd use the Area of Interest drop-down menu to select a shape or shapefile. For this example, leave Area of Interest blank in order to produce a report for the entire landscape.
  4. Click Request a Report.

  5. Confirm your selection by clicking Create Report in the box that appears. The report begins processing and may take a few moments.

    use the 'request a report' button to generate your report

    To make sure the report is complete click the Refresh refresh button that appears where the Create Report button once was. When complete, a green checkmark appears next to the report name which becomes a hyperlink.

    the report completion will be confirmed with a green confirmation box.

  6. For this example you are going to view the fire behavior aspect of the report in Map Studio so it can be viewed with the landscape features, so close the report box and click the View in Map Studio button. The report and Map Studio outputs can be viewed anytime later by accessing them in My Workspace, they are saved in the same folder as the landscape they describe (in this case your Granite Creek project folder).

    view report on map

Comparing Landscape Features and Model Outputs with the Swipe widget

After clicking View in Map Studio, the fire behavior model layer will automatically open. For future use, you can remove that modeling layer, or add other modeling layers, by clicking the Simulation Output Tools simulation output tools widget on the bottom of the screen.

  1. If the layer did not automatically open, click the Simulation Output Tools widget simulation output tools on the bottom of the screen.

  2. Ensure the box next to “Granite Creek LF2014 unedited-Auto97th” is checked so this layer opens on the map and is visible in Layer List. Check the appropriate boxes in Layer List to view Flame Lengths and the corresponding legend as displayed below.

    Zoom into an orange/red area where you can see concentrated areas high Flame Lengths projected by the summary model. Next you'll look at the fuel models and topography for that area of more intense fire behavior.

    use 'simulation output tools' to add the auto97th model outputs

  3. To compare these model outputs with your landscape, add the Granite Creek LF2014 unedited landscape back to Map Studio by opening the Landscape Tools widget Landscape Tools widget, clicking the Add to Map tab and using the checkbox to add the "Granite Creek LF2014 unedited." Use the drop-down arrows and checkboxs in Layer List display only the landscape Fuel Model layer and the Model output Flame length layer.

    Tip: To move a layer group, such as Landscape, up or down in Layer List, click the More Options more options button to the right of the layer and choose "Move up" or "Move down."

    use the more options button to move layer groups up or down

Next you'll compare the two using Swipe:

  1. Click the Swipe widget swipe widget in the top right of Map Studio.

  2. Next, specify the layers to swipe. By default, the first layer in Layer List will be the one displayed in the Swipe box, and will appear in the top portion of the map, the next visible layer in Layer List will be the layer displayed under it. In the example below, "Model Output: Granite Creek LF2014 unedited – Auto97th" is displayed on the top, and the Landscape layer is displayed on the bottom. Slide the bar in the middle of the screen up and down. Notice that the areas with high flame lengths correspond to areas of Fuel Model 188 (TL8) with small patches 165 (TU5).

    using the swipe tool in the top right can help evaluate our landscape

Next you'll want to view the topography to see how it corresponds to the areas displaying more intense fire behavior. Uncheck the boxes in the Layer List then re-check the "Granite Creek LF2014 unedited – Auto97th" layer. This will display only that behavior layer, and allow you to see the topography underneath. If this does not occur on your map, move your mouse up to the swipe box and make sure the Model Output layer is selected (See Swipe widget topic for more detail).

swipe tool showing topography below the layer

As you swipe up and down you'll notice all the areas displaying more intense fire behavior are west or northwest facing slopes. Wrapping up this analysis by repeating this process in the northern part of the landscape, you notice there appears to be several areas that would produce more intense fire behavior. Also compare other aspects of fire behavior, such as Rate of Spread and Crown Fire Activity.

With this information, you decide to create two Areas of Interest, or areas on which you’d like to focus the analysis and treatments.

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