Tool


Title

Canopy Fuel Stratum Characteristics Calculator v1.0
Contact(s):
  • Miguel G. Cruz
    Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
  • Martin E. Alexander
    Wild Rose Fire Behaviour
  • Ronald H. Wakimoto
    University of Montana
Publication Date: October 2010

Cataloging Information

Keyword(s):
  • basal area
  • canopy base height
  • canopy fuel load
  • CBD - canopy bulk density
  • CFIS - Crown Fire Initiation and Spread System
  • Douglas-fir
  • lodgepole pine
  • mixed conifer
  • Pinus contorta
  • Pinus ponderosa
  • ponderosa pine
  • Pseudotsuga menziesii
  • stand density
  • stand height
Partner Site(s):
JFSP Project Number(s):
09-S-03-1
Record Maintained By:
Record Last Modified: March 27, 2018
FRAMES Record Number: 13583

Description

Canopy fuel stratum characteristics determine to a large extent the behavior of crown fires. By linking an extensive forest stand database with foliage dry weight allometric equations, we developed regression equations to estimate the following canopy fuel stratum characteristics: (1) canopy base height (CBH); (2) canopy fuel load (CFL); (3) canopy bulk density (CBD). Equations are available for the following fuel types that commonly occur in western North America: (1) ponderosa Pine; (2) lodgepole Pine; (3) Douglas-fir; (4) mixed conifer. The Cruz et al. (2003) regressions for estimating the CBH, CFL and CBD of these four fuel types are included within the present software. The outputs will serve as inputs in predicting crown fire behavior potential using, for example, the Crown Fire Initiation and Spread (CFIS) software.

Online Link(s):
Link to this tool (376 KB; xls)