The fuelbed: a key element of the Fuel Characteristic Classification SystemThis article is one of a selection of papers published in the Special Forum on the Fuel Characteristic Classification System.

Abstract

Wildland fuelbed characteristics are temporally and spatially complex and can vary widely across regions. To capture this variability, we designed the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS), a national system to create fuelbeds and classify those fuelbeds for their capacity to support fire and consume fuels. This paper describes the structure of the fuelbeds internal to FCCS. Fuelbeds are considered relatively homogeneous units on the landscape, representing distinct combustion environments that determine potential fire behaviour and effects. The FCCS fuelbeds are organized into six strata: canopy, shrubs, nonwoody fuels, woody fuels, litter-lichen-moss, and ground fuels. Fuelbeds are described by several qualitative and quantitative physical and biological variables with emphasis on characteristics useful for fuels management and fire behaviour planning. The FCCS includes 216 fuelbeds that represent the major vegetation types of the United States. The FCCS fuelbeds can be used as presented or modified to create customized fuelbeds with general or site-specific data to address fire science management or research questions. This system allows resource managers to evaluate wildland fuels operations and management activities, fire hazard, and ecological and air quality impacts at small and large spatial scales. The FCCS fuelbeds represent the United States, although the system has the potential for building fuelbeds for international application.Résumé : Les caractéristiques des couches de combustibles en milieu naturel sont complexes dans le temps et l'espace et peuvent varier énormément d'une région à l'autre. Dans le but de saisir cette variabilité, nous avons élaboré le système de classification des caractéristiques des combustibles (SCCC), un système national pour créer et classer ces couches de combustibles selon leur capacité à supporter un feu et à consumer des combustibles. Cet article décrit la structure des couches de combustibles intrinsèques au SCCC. Les couches de combustibles sont considérées comme des unités relativement homogènes dans le paysage et représentent des milieux de combustion distincts qui déterminent les effets et le comportement potentiel du feu. Les couches de combustibles du SCCC sont organisées en six strates : canopée, arbustes, combustibles non ligneux, combustibles ligneux, litière-lichens-mousses et combustibles au sol. Les couches de combustibles sont caractérisées par plusieurs variables physiques et biologiques qualitatives et quantitatives en mettant l'accent sur les caractéristiques utiles pour la gestion des combustibles et la planification du comportement du feu. Le SCCC inclut 216 couches de combustibles qui représentent les principaux types de végétation des É tats-Unis. Les couches de combustibles du SCCC peuvent être utilisées telles quelles ou modifiées pour créer des couches de combustibles sur mesure à partir de données générales ou spécifiques à une station pour s'attaquer à des problèmes de recherche ou de gestion en pyrologie forestière. Ce système perm...

Fire Behavior Simulation from Global Fuel and Climatic Information

“…FCCS was designed to represent the structural and geographic diversity in wildland fuels and combines the fuel properties into "fuelbeds", which include the physical and chemical variables used to model fire behavior and fuel consumption, and predict emissions [38]. FCCS uses fuel characteristics (e.g., percentage cover, loading, depth) to calculate and report nine fire potentials, organized into three categories: surface fire behavior potential, crown fire potential and available fuel potential [39].…”

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“…The FCCS organizes and categorizes fuelbeds (measured or averaged physical fuel characteristics depicting a particular fire environment) to assess potential fire behavior (Ottmar et al, 2007;Riccardi et al, 2007). FCCS stratifies fuelbeds into six major types: canopy, shrubs, nonwoody vegetation, woody vegetation, litterlichen-moss, and ground fuels (also duff ) (Ottmar et al, 2007).…”

“…Fuelbed data are input into fire behavior models to predict fire potentials-surface fire behavior, crown fire potential, and available fuel potential (Riccardi et al, 2007;Sandberg et al, 2007). Each dimension of fire potential can be broken down into component parts.…”

Fuel beds variation of coastal tropical freshwater forested wetlands in three disturbance regimes at La Encrucijada, Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

“…The study of fuel beds has been developed worldwide in different ecosystems (Sandberg et al 2001;Ottmar et al 2007;Riccardi et al 2007;Arroyo et al 2008;Donato et al 2013;Keane, 2013;Bernau et al 2018), tempered (Villers y López, 2004;Bautista et al 2005;Muñoz et al 2005;Wong and Villers, 2006) and tropical (Rodríguez-Trejo et al 2011; Adame et al 2013; Barrios-Calderón et al 2018). However, few studies have focused on exploring tropical freshwater forested wetlands with different levels of disturbance.…”