A Multivariate Approach to Mapping Forest Vegetation and Fuels Using Gis Databases, Satellite Imagery, and Forest Inventory Plots

Knowing the types and amounts of fuels at a site is an important prerequisite to evaluating fire risk, predicting fire behavior, and assessing potential fire effects. When these assessments are expanded to larger extents, the spatial configuration of the landscape fuel mosaic must also be considered (Keane et al. 2000: Keane et al. 1998). Spatial patterns of fuels, topography, and wind all interact to influence fire spread and intensity. Fuels are of particular interest from a management perspective because they can be modified through mechanical treatments or prescribed burning. Accurate maps of existing fuel patterns can help managers develop improved assessments of fire risk and target fuel reduction efforts more efficiently. In order for fuel maps to be useful to land managers they must accurately represent the spatial pattern of fuels across large, heterogeneous landscapes, while simultaneously and consistently mapping multiple fuel and vegetation variables.