LANDFIRE¶

National-scale vegetation, fuel, and landscape characterization dataset produced by the U.S. Forest Service, supporting wildfire behavior modeling and landscape-scale fire risk assessment.

Overview¶

LANDFIRE (Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools) is a geospatial data program that provides consistent, nationwide maps of vegetation, fuels, and fire regimes across the United States. The products are derived from remote sensing, field observations, and ecological modeling.

LANDFIRE datasets are widely used as static or slowly varying background layers in wildfire modeling, including fire behavior simulation, fire spread modeling, and wildfire risk assessment pipelines.

Data Characteristics¶

Spatial coverage: United States
Spatial resolution: ~30 m
Temporal coverage: Versioned updates (quasi-annual releases)
Data structure: Gridded raster layers (static or slowly varying)
Data format: GeoTIFF
Coordinate system: Projected coordinate systems (product-dependent)

Variables¶

LANDFIRE products include multiple thematic layers, such as:

Fuel models (e.g., Fire Behavior Fuel Models)
Vegetation type, cover, and height
Canopy characteristics (canopy cover, base height, bulk density)
Fire regime and disturbance descriptors

Typical Use Cases¶

Fuel characterization for wildfire behavior and spread modeling
Landscape-scale wildfire risk and hazard assessment
Static covariates in machine learning–based wildfire prediction models
Integration with meteorological and ignition datasets for end-to-end fire modeling

Access¶

LANDFIRE data products are publicly accessible via U.S. Forest Service portals:

Reference¶

Rollins, M. G. (2009). LANDFIRE: A nationally consistent vegetation, wildland fire, and fuel assessment. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 18(3), 235–249. https://doi.org/10.1071/WF08088