RxCADRE 2008, 2011, and 2012: Ground fuel measurements from prescribed fires

The Prescribed Fire Combustion and Atmospheric Dynamics Research Experiment (RxCADRE) was designed to collect atmospheric, fuels, fire behavior, energy balance, emissions, and fire effects data to evaluate and advance fire models and further our understanding of fire science questions. This data publication contains fuel loading, fuel consumption, and fuel moisture content data for 28 sample units associated with 6 small replicate grass fires, 2 large operational grass fires, and 8 large operational forested fires conducted during 2008, 2011, and 2012 in longleaf pine (Pinus palustrus) ecosystems of the southeastern USA. The small replicate grass fires burned in 2012 were named S3, S4, S5, S7, S8, and S9. The two operational grass fires were named L1G (2012) and L2G (2012) and were burned in 2012. The 8 operational forested units were named Dubignon East, North Boundary, Turkey Woods, 307B, and 608A (burned in 2008), 608A and 703 C (burned in 2011), and L2F (burned in 2012). Pre- and post-fire loadings by fuelbed component in all 28 units were collected using a combination of line intersect inventory and clip plot methods. Fuel consumption was determined by subtracting the pre- and post-fire values. Fuel moisture samples were collected, weighed and oven dried to determine fuel moisture content by fuelbed component immediately prior to ignition. This data publication also contains turkey oak fuel loading data collected in 2012 near L2G, S7, and S8, in order to assist the calibration of terrestrial LiDAR.
Consumption of fuel during wildland fire is the basic process that leads to heat generation and emissions, driving fire behavior and accounting for fire effects such as smoke impacts on communities, carbon reallocation, tree mortality, and soil heating. To assist managers in planning for wildland fire, consumption studies of shrubs, forbs, grasses, woody fuel, litter, and duff in forests and rangelands have been conducted in temperate, tropical, and boreal regions of the world and offer data sets that include fuel characteristics, fuel moisture, fuel consumption, and environmental variables from both wildfires and prescribed fires. These data sets have been used to develop fuel consumption models in software systems in use today such as Consume. Although mainstays of fire effects modeling, the aforementioned modeling systems have not been quantitatively evaluated because independent, fully documented, quality-assured fuel consumption data are lacking. This data set provides measurements for the evaluation and development of fuel and fuel consumption models and other fire models that require fuel loading and fuel consumption as inputs.
A short summary of the RxCADRE project can be found in the full data publication download (\Supplements\RxCADRE_Project_Overview.pdf). Information about the RxCADRE project can also be found here: //www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/research/rxcadre/. Original metadata date was 12/12/2014. Minor metadata updates on 12/14/2016.