Oct-03FOFEM 5 Overview An Overview of FOFEM 5 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory Systems for Environmental Management

Oct-03 FOFEM 5 Overview

An Overview of FOFEM 5

Missoula Fire Sciences LaboratorySystems for Environmental Management


FOFEM 5 is…

• A computer system to calculate first-order fire effects from simple inputs.

• A Windows program with a graphical user-interface; also has a batch mode

• A fire effects calculator that can be linked to GIS

First order fire effects are the immediate consequences of fire, whether direct or indirect.


FOFEM 5 contains…

• scientific information from many research studies

• heuristic information to bridge gaps and to select best data and equations

• an extensive set of default inputs


FOFEM 5 applies in…

• Most U.S. forest types• Some rangeland vegetation types• Areas managed by different agencies


FOFEM 5 is used for…

• Conducting environmental assessments• Developing fire and silvicultural prescriptions• Assessing fire severity


FOFEM 5 predicts…

• Fuel consumption• Smoke production• Tree mortality• Soil heating


FOFEM 5: Fuel consumption

• FOFEM 5 predicts consumption of…– Duff and litter– Surface woody fuels by size class, sound and rotten– Live fuels and canopy fuels

• FOFEM 5 uses Burnup, a theoretical model for predicting woody fuel consumption



• Duff and live fuel consumption are predicted using rules and regression equations based on – cover type– region– moisture – season.

• BURNUP predicts woody fuel consumption by simulating – heat transfer between fuel particles– combustion rate– resulting fire intensity



• Inputs needed:– Fuel load by size class– Fuel moisture

• Outputs generated:– Fuel consumption by size class– Post-burn fuel load


FOFEM 5: Smoke production

• Predicts fuel consumption rate, emission production rate, and fire intensity over time for both surface and crown fires

• Simulates the proportion of flaming and smoldering combustion– Combustion efficiency and emission factors vary with

fuels and moisture.

• Estimates production of PM10, PM2.5, CO, CO2, CH4, NOx, SOx



• Smoke production is estimated by multiplying fuel consumption by emissions factors– FOFEM uses separate emissions factors for flaming

and smoldering combustion– Flaming and smoldering combustion can occur

simultaneously, in relative amounts depending on fuel moisture, fuel particle size class, and fire intensity.

– Emission production is estimated in time intervals from ignition until combustion ceases.



• Inputs needed:– Fuel load by size class– Fuel moisture

• Outputs generated:– Smoke production over time for

each emission species– Combustion efficiency and

emission factors


FOFEM 5: Tree mortality

• by species and size• 207 tree species• fire behavior must be input by user



• Mortality predicted from bark thickness and crown scorch

• Species influences mortality only through bark thickness– FOFEM estimates bark thickness from species and

diameter.

• FOFEM’s mortality algorithm has been found to be robust in independent tests– Does not account for season of burn, post-burn

insect attack, drought, or differences in burn duration.



• Inputs needed:– Tree species, dbh, height, crown ratio– Fire intensity (flame length or scorch height)

• Outputs generated:– Probability of mortality– Post-fire stand table


FOFEM 5: Soil heating

• Soil heating model – predicts time, temperature, depth profiles



• If a duff layer is present– Unconsumed duff is an insulator– Consumed duff is a heat source

• If a duff layer is not present– Heat from the surface fire drives soil heating



• Inputs needed:– Surface fuel load by size class– fuel moisture content– Soil texture and moisture content

• Outputs generated:– Soil temperatures at a range of depths over time– Depth to 60 C and 275 C


FOFEM 5: Strengths

• Simple, easy to learn and use• Can be used for a variety of purposes• Accommodates variable level of input detail• Expandable structure• Uses heuristic information to bridge research

gaps


FOFEM 5: Collaboration

• Fuel consumption: Mark Finney and Frank Albini helped implement Burnup calculations and post-frontal emissions.

• Smoke production: Ann Acheson and Mark Schaaf helped design smoke module

• Soil heating: Roger Hungerford and Dan Jimenez helped implement the soil heating model


FOFEM 5: Acknowledgements

• James K. Brown (retired) conceived the FOFEM concept.

• FOFEM 5 was developed by Elizabeth D. Reinhardt and Robert E. Keane, Missoula Fire Sciences Lab.

• Computer programming by Larry Gangi, Systems for Environmental Management, Missoula, Montana.

• Roger Ottmar, PNW research station, helped allow the use of FCC’s as a fuel input alternative.

• Duncan Lutes, Systems for Environmental Management, assisted with assignment of fuel and tree parameters.

• Ecosystem classification and default fuel loadings were developed by Scott Mincemoyer, Missoula Fire Sciences Lab.


FOFEM 5: more information

• See the FOFEM 5 website at www.fire.org for more information and to download the software


Documents

Oct-03FOFEM 5 Overview An Overview of FOFEM 5 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory Systems for Environmental Management