LANDFIRE-Vegetation Product Descriptions

The Existing Vegetation Height (EVH) layer represents the average height of the dominant vegetation for a 30-m grid cell.

Canopy height is generated separately for tree, shrub and herbaceous lifeforms using training data and other layers. EVH is determined by the average height weighted by species cover and based on the existing vegetation type (EVT) lifeform. Decision tree models using field reference data and Landsat, elevation, and ancillary data are developed separately for each lifeform. Decision tree relationships are used to generate lifeform specific height class layers, which are merged into a single composite EVH layer.

LANDFIRE uses EVH in several subsequent layers, including the development of the fuel layers.

Attribute Table

Attribute tables for LANDFIRE grid data are available on the Data Distribution Site. Generally, these attribute tables provide information pertaining to the grid class value along with class descriptions or labels for these values. Attribute tables, such as the Existing Vegetation Type, provide additional attribute fields that can provide crosswalk links to other classification themes. Color mapping fields are also provided within the attribute tables, providing a standardized, consistent LANDFIRE color mapping schema for these data layers. The attribute files are in comma separated value (csv) format that can be easily converted to other formats to meet user needs.

The attribute tables are provided as a convenience as calculations with grid data will automatically drop attributes. For example, if a grid is clipped, the rowid, value, and count are the only attributes retained. Attribute fields can be reattached to the grid using a join attribute function having the "value" attribute as the link.