An Overview of FOFEM 5

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An Overview of FOFEM 5

• Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory
• Systems for Environmental Management

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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.
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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

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FOFEM 5 applies in

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

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FOFEM 5 is used for

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

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FOFEM 5 predicts

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

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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

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FOFEM 5 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

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FOFEM 5 Fuel consumption

• Inputs needed
• Fuel load by size class
• Fuel moisture
• Outputs generated
• Fuel consumption by size class
• Post-burn fuel load

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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

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FOFEM 5 Smoke production

• 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.

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FOFEM 5 Smoke production

• Inputs needed
• Fuel load by size class
• Fuel moisture
• Outputs generated
• Smoke production over time for each emission
  species
• Combustion efficiency and emission factors

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FOFEM 5 Tree mortality

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

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FOFEM 5 Tree mortality

• Mortality predicted from bark thickness and crown
  scorch
• Species influences mortality only through bark
  thickness
• FOFEM estimates bark thickness from species and
  diameter.
• FOFEMs 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.

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FOFEM 5 Tree mortality

• Inputs needed
• Tree species, dbh, height, crown ratio
• Fire intensity (flame length or scorch height)
• Outputs generated
• Probability of mortality
• Post-fire stand table

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FOFEM 5 Soil heating

• Soil heating model predicts time, temperature,
  depth profiles

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FOFEM 5 Soil heating

• 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

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FOFEM 5 Soil heating

• Interpreting soil heating output

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FOFEM 5 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

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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

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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

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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 FCCs 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.

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FOFEM 5 more information

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

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