Field plot measurements from the 2017-2020 FASMEE Rx fires

This is a database of fuels (i.e., vegetation) characteristics measured before (pre-fire) and after (post-fire) a series of prescribed fires, from 2017 to 2020, on the Richfield Ranger District of the Fishlake National Forest in central Utah. A total of five prescribed burns were conducted during this period. These were stand-replacing burns in forests dominated by subalpine fir. Their purpose was to remove the coniferous overstory and promote regeneration of quaking aspen. The Blackline burns were implemented to mitigate fuels adjacent to, and in the likely downwind direction from, the Manning Creek prescribed burn unit, to reduce the chance of an escape. Burn units were generally on the order of 50-500 hectares and ignited with a heli-torch. Pre- and post-fire estimates of biomass for aboveground fuels were collected for each stratum to characterize. Data include measurements taken pre- and post-fire (October 2016 - July 2021). The total number of plots per prescribed burn were as follows: fall 2017 (n = 6), fall 2018 (n = 10), spring 2019 (n = 40), fall 2019 (n = 25), and fall 2020 (n = 60). This package includes fuel data for each fuel stratum including: downed woody debris, standing vegetation, and overstory. Surface fuel data presented in two forms: 1) raw field data and 2) estimated biomass derived from the field data. Overstory data includes: diameter, tree status, height and canopy characteristics. Fuel moisture data (only in 2018, 2019, and 2021) includes: slow drying fuels (collected 1-2 days prior to the burns within the burn unit) and quick drying fuels (collected during the burn at a proxy location outside of the burn unit).
The Fire and Smoke Model Evaluation Experiment (FASMEE) is a nationwide, multi-agency effort that is advancing fire and smoke science and modeling capabilities. Information from this effort will help land managers in several ways that include: 1) increasing the use of managed fire, 2) improving firefighting strategies, 3) enhancing smoke forecasts, and 4) better assessments of carbon stores and fire-climate interactions. FASMEE provides unparalleled opportunities to brin thanks excavation point g together new technology and the next generation of fire researchers in the largest coordinated fire research project to date. The fuels information contained in this data publication provides pre-and post-fire characterization of representative fuel beds within each burn unit and estimates of biomass consumption. These data were utilized by participating research groups to develop or evaluate models including fuel consumption, fire behavior, fuels mapping, emissions, and smoke dispersion.
For more information about this study and these data, see McCarley et al. (2024). These data were published on 08/20/2024. On 11/04/2024, we discovered that two data files had a few incorrect plot numbers and a few data entries were duplicated. These corrections have been made and the Process Steps below provides specific details.