Final Report Supplement - Joint Fire Science Program

Zotero Report zotero://report/items/520446_XG98FERT-520446_89BHQIMS-520446...
Author Yonghe Wang
Author Kerry R. Anderson
Abstract We used the K-function and kernel estimation methods to evaluate the spatial and temporal patterns of ignition
locations of lightning- and human-caused forest fires in Alberta, Canada. Although both of these fire types have
spatial patterns of cluster distribution, quantitative measures for evaluating the patterns in the province are
lacking. Our results revealed annual differences in the spatial patterns between the two fire types, whereby fires
caused by humans tended to be more clustered and had more complex spatial patterns than those caused by
lightning. Spatial interactions of cluster and inhibition existed between the two fire types. Human-caused fires in
the period 2003–07 were highly concentrated in the southern parts of the province, indicating the existence of
an interaction between space and time. Kernel analysis confirmed the observation that in northern Alberta,
lightning-caused fires were more likely to occur than human-caused fires; the opposite was true in southern
Alberta. This study provided useful spatial information that is not obvious or cannot be inferred from visual
examination of raw data. Such quantitative knowledge could lead to the development of fire-response and
fire-suppression strategies appropriate to specific regions within the province.
Publication International Journal of Wildland Fire
Volume 19
Issue 8
Pages 1059–1072
Date December 2010
Journal Abbr Int. J. Wildland Fire
DOI 10.1071/WF09085
ISSN 1448-5516
URL http://www.publish.csiro.au/?
paper=WF09085
Extra Keywords: Alberta Wildfire Management Areas; K-function; kernel estimation; spatial intensity; spatial point
patterns.
Date Added Tuesday, August 16, 2011 2:02:13 AM
Modified Tuesday, August 16, 2011 2:02:19 AM
An overview of the Fuel Characteristic Classification System - Quantifying, classifying, and creating
fuelbeds for resource planning
Type Journal Article
Author Roger D. Ottmar
Author David V. Sandberg
Author Cynthia L. Riccardi
Author Susan J. Prichard
Abstract We present an overview of the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS), a tool that enables land
managers, regulators, and scientists to create and catalogue fuelbeds and to classify those fuelbeds for their
capacity to support fire and consume fuels. The fuelbed characteristics and fire classification from this tool will
provide inputs for current and future sophisticated models for the quantification of fire behavior, fire effects,
and carbon accounting and enable assessment of fuel treatment effectiveness. The system was designed from
requirements of land managers, scientists and policy makers gathered through six regional workshops. The
FCCS contains a set of fuelbeds representing the United States that were compiled from scientific literature,
fuels photo series, fuels data sets, and expert opinion. The system enables modification and enhancement of
these fuelbeds to represent a particular scale of interest. The FCCS then reports assigned and calculated fuel
characteristics for each existing fuelbed stratum including the canopy, shrubs, nonwoody, woody, litter/lichen
/moss, and duff. Finally, the system classifies each fuelbed by calculating fire potentials that provide an index of
the intrinsic capacity of each fuelbed to support surface fire behavior, support crown fire, and provide fuels for
flaming, smoldering, and residual consumption. The FCCS outputs are being used in a national wildland fire
emissions inventory and in the development of fuelbed, fire hazard, and treatment effectiveness maps on several
national forests. Although the FCCS was built for the United States, the conceptual framework is applicable
worldwide.
Publication Canadian Journal of Forest Research
Volume 37
Issue 12
46 of 626 9/1/2011 11:40 AM