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Rapid Refresh Forest Canopy Height

Forest canopy height describes the average height of the top of the vegetated canopy. Geospatial data describing canopy height supplies information to fire behavior models, such as FARSITE (Finney 1998), to determine the probability of crown fire ignition, calculate wind reductions, and compute the volume of crown fuel (VanWagner 1977, 1993). The Canopy Height layer is generated using a predictive modeling approach that relates Landsat imagery and spatially explicit biophysical gradients to calculated values of average dominant height from field training sites. Because of model requirements, these data are provided for forested areas only. The units of measurement for the LANDFIRE Canopy Height layer are meters * 10.

These data were refined for western zones based upon comments obtained from fuel and fire behavior specialists. Moreover, these data were updated to reflect the effects from recent (1999 to 2007) wildland fires. (Obtain Rapid Refresh Fire Perimeter Data.)

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Finney, M. A. 1998. FARSITE: Fire Area Simulator-model development and evaluation. Res. Pap. RMRS-RP-4, Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 47 p.

Van Wagner, C. E. 1977. Conditions for the start and spread of crownfire. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 7:23-24.

Van Wagner, C. E. 1993. Prediction of crown fire behavior in two stands of jack pine. Canadian Journal Forest Research 23:442-449.