Incorporating Landscape Fuel Treatment Modeling into the Forest Vegetation Simulator

Robert C. SeliAlan A. AgerNicholas L. CrookstonMark A. FinneyBerni BahroJames K. AgeeCharles W. McHugh

Study Objectives

• What effect does the spatial arrangement of fuel treatments have on large fire growth.

• How does the arrangement change over time.

Study SitesSite Area FVS polygons FVS variant Blue Mountains, WA 54,600 ha 5,752 Blue Mtn. (BM) Sanders County, MT 51,700 ha 9,699 Inland Empire (IE) Stanislaus Nat’l Forest, CA 40,500 ha 7,754 Western Sierra (WS)

Simulation System

• FVS for simulating forest changes and treatments over time.

• Treatment Optimization Model using topologically optimal logic to select stands for treatment.

• A fire growth simulation model.

Three Major Components

Compute Priority

Selects stands for treatment

CustomPPE-FFE

Controls the entiresimulation

MakeNew

Activities

Adds FVSactivitieson the fly

Custom PPE-FFE

• FFE was added to PPE, • PPE changed to implement trial activities for

every stand and pause,– transfer trial activity results to ComputePriority.exe, – wait for ComputePriority.exe to pass stands selected

for treatment.

• When ComputePriority.exe terminates PPE schedules stands for treatment.

• PPE calls MakeNewActivities.exe and accepts any new FVS activities.

Custom PPE-FFE

Compute Priority• Stand values into FARSITE landscape files.

– Scott & Burgan fuel model logic• Selects cells for FVS trial activities• Converts selected cells back into stands.

Make New Activities

• Created new activities for PPE-FFE, random wildfires in our simulation.– SIMFIRE– FLAMADJ

Results 1Prospect Creek, MT

0.2 Treatment Fraction

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

0 1 2 3 4 5

FVS cycle (10 yrs.)

Rel

ativ

e sp

read

rat

e

No Treatment

Random400m800m1600m

Results 2Prospect Creek, MT

800m Maximum Treatment Size

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

0 1 2 3 4 5

FVS cycle (10 yrs.)

Rel

ativ

e sp

read

rat

e No Treatment

0.10.20.30.40.5

Treatment Fraction

Complete Results

Discussion

• Data requirements

• Need for Scott & Burgan fuel models– Lack of understory vegetation dynamics

• Complexity of process– Skills needed– Computer requirements

• 10,000 stand limit in PPE