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Type: Journal Article
Author(s): L. B. Nadeau; P. Englefield
Publication Date: 2006

The Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS) is used daily across Canada for evaluating forest fire danger. Fuel-type information is one of the inputs required by the models used in the CFFDRS. In this project, three fuel-type maps with a 25 m resolution were produced for a pilot study area located in Alberta using land cover only; land cover and biomass; and, land cover, biomass and leaf area index data derived from satellite imagery. The relationships between inputs and fuel types were determined mainly by the opinions of forest fire scientists and incorporated into a computer program using fuzzy set methodology. Not all the CFFDRS fuel types could be distinguished using these inputs; three of the coniferous types had to be grouped into one common fuel type. Overall accuracy was between 74 and 83% based on ground-truth comparisons. The most accurate map resulted from land cover and biomass data. Detailed accuracy assessment indicated that the overall accuracy increased up to 86% if ambiguous fuel type identification was considered. No combination of inputs was able to define a fuel type with absolute certainty, which is a reflection of differing expert opinions and the small number of inputs used to produce the maps. © Springle 2006.

Citation: Nadeau, L. B., and P. Englefield. 2006. Fine-resolution mapping of wildfire fuel types for Canada: fuzzy logic modeling for an Alberta pilot area. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, v. 120, no. 1-3, p. 127-152. 10.1007/s10661-005-9053-0.

Cataloging Information

Topics:
Fire Ecology    Fuels    Mapping    Models
Regions:
Alaska    California    Eastern    Great Basin    Hawaii    Northern Rockies    Northwest    Rocky Mountain    Southern    Southwest    International    National
Keywords:
  • Alberta
  • biomass
  • boreal forests
  • Canada
  • coniferous forests
  • cover
  • fire danger
  • fire danger rating
  • fire management
  • forest management
  • fuel management
  • fuel mapping
  • fuel models
  • fuel type
  • fuel types
  • fuzzy logic
  • ladder fuels
  • Larix laricina
  • leaves
  • lichens
  • litter
  • needles
  • organic matter
  • Picea glauca
  • Picea mariana
  • Pinus banksiana
  • Pinus contorta
  • remote sensing
  • shrubs
  • stand characteristics
  • statistical analysis
  • surface fuels
  • wetlands
  • wildfires
  • wildland fire
Tall Timbers Record Number: 20450Location Status: In-fileCall Number: Fire FileAbstract Status: Okay, Fair use, Reproduced by permission
Record Last Modified:
Record Maintained By: FRAMES Staff (https://www.frames.gov/contact)
FRAMES Record Number: 45001

This bibliographic record was either created or modified by Tall Timbers and is provided without charge to promote research and education in Fire Ecology. The E.V. Komarek Fire Ecology Database is the intellectual property of Tall Timbers.