Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team

Connecting FCCS with the Forest Vegetation Simulator

This case study follows up on an earlier projected funded by the City of Seattle to analyze fuel decomposition and fire hazard on the Cedar River Watershed. Data collected during that study was used to develop an integration between the Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FFE-FVS) and the Fuel Characteristic Classification System. Current work involves testing FFE-FVS output to that predicted by the FCCS. The value added by this integration includes the ability to calculate FCCS fire potentials from stand tree list data

Updates

Forest Vegetation Simulator to Create FCCS Fuelbeds (March 2009) -- Scientists and programmers from the Forest Management Service Center in Fort Collins, Colorado and the FERA team have been working together over the past year to develop an integration between the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS) and the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS). The goal is to provide FCCS fuelbeds as one output from FVS. This integration will allow managers to rapidly generate custom FCCS fuelbeds from their current stand exam data. Managers would also have the capability to implement silvicultural treatments such as thinning and planting, and project FCCS fuelbeds forward in time.

Project Lead: Morris Johnson