LandFire

The searchable table below is a condensed version of the data contributions. To search the complete list of data contributions, download the entire Compiled Data Table.

Note: CONUS-wide datasets are available by typing "CONUS" in the "Search" box.

Prior to 2015 many data sources were reported by state or region. Starting in 2015, federal and nationwide datasets were often consolidated into one source. If you suspect your local dataset may have been one of the sources merged into a larger dataset, type "nationwide" in the "State/Region" field. The resulting information should help you determine if your data was used in LANDFIRE.

LF Data Types

LFRDB - vegetation and fuel plot data
Events - disturbance and treatment perimeters
Exotics - invasive plant species perimeters
Feedback - critiques of LF products

LF Version

Name of LF product version for which the data were contributed.

LF Source Code

LF internal source code assigned to each data source.

Agency Code

Agency based summary code assigned to each data source.

State Region

State or Region in which the data exist.

Locality

Locality in which the data exist.

Data Description

Description of the contributed data.

Date Range

Date range in Year(s) of data acquired.

Data Set Credit

Entity or Organization(s) accredited to the data source.

Product Description

Vegetation Condition Class (VCC) represents a simple categorization of the associated Vegetation Departure (VDep) and is a derivative of the VDep layer. It indicates the general level to which current vegetation is different from the estimated modeled vegetation based on past reference conditions. VDep and VCC are based upon methods originally described in the Interagency Fire Regime Condition Class Guidebook, but are not identical to those methods and should not be considered as a replacement data set. Full descriptions of the methods used can be found in the VDep product description. Note that the LANDFIRE (LF) team feels it is very important for users to review the VDep methods before comparing VDep or VCC values across LF versions.

VCC is not always created for all extents and/or all versions of LF. See the schedule page to learn more about each version.

In LF 2012, the original three VCC classes were divided in half to create six VCC classes to provide additional thematic resolution. The below table describes the classes:

LF 2012 and forward

LF c2001 National, LF 2001, LF 2008

VCC I.A: Very Low, VDep 0 - 16

VCC I: Low departure, VDep 0 - 33

VCC I.B: Low, VDep 17 - 33

VCC II.A: Moderate to Low, VDep 34 - 50

VCC II: Moderate departure, VDep 34 - 66

VCC II.B: Moderate to High, VDep 51 - 66

VCC III.A: High, VDep 67 - 83

VCC III: High departure, VDep 67 - 100

VCC III.B: Very High, VDep 84 - 100

The six new VCC classes can be collapsed into the original three VCC classes as shown above. Both the original three and new six class VCC classifications are included as attributes in the LF 2012 and beyond VCC layer.

Image of the upper NW corner of the U.S. with colors of VCC on the map.

FAQs

LANDFIRE (LF) never delivered "full" FRCC product, even when the product carried that name, so it was renamed to reduce confusion.

FRCC is composed of two elements: Vegetation Departure and Fire Regime Departure. LF produced and delivered the first component of FRCC (Vegetation Departure) because LF had no consistent way to estimate Fire Regime Departure over the entire geography. Therefore, the product was renamed VCC since it is a more appropriate and descriptive name. VCC is just the current VDep product sliced into categories.

Summary units for vegetation departure calculations varied across the LANDFIRE versions and are specified on the Vegetation Departure web page.

Vegetation Condition Class Resources

Attribute Data Table (CSV)

Attribute Data Dictionary (ADD)

CONUS LF 2024

Alaska LF 2024

Hawaii LF 2024

LF Definitions, Quality, and Standards - provides information about contributors, metadata and data standards, data creation, and data testing. This document also provides details about our general data release process.

LF Dictionary - a “one-stop shop” general resource that provides information about products, Attribute Data Dictionaries (ADDs), data and metadata, and terms.

LF Version Comparison Table - view the version history for each individual product.

LF Naming Conventions - understanding the version number

Reference Conditions - CONUS and HI

Reference Conditions - AK

Reference Data

LANDFIRE (LF) would like to acknowledge and thank everyone who has contributed data. LF collects data through user submitted data contributions and by searching for data on websites and agency databases/Systems of Record (SOR).

To facilitate annual updates, LF needs as much time as possible to process data. LF is asking for data to be submitted or available in database systems by October 31st. Please make every effort to have your FY 2025 data accessible to LF by October 31, 2025. This may include entering data into online databases/Systems of Record (SOR) so it can be obtained by LF. Data submitted after the deadline will be used if schedules allow in LF2025 production work. All data contributions must meet LF requirements.

The primary focus of this data call is to collect FY 2025 disturbance and treatment activities. To make annual updates possible we will be asking for data from the fiscal year which runs from 10/01/2024 – 09/30/2025. LF now requires disturbance/treatment date or fiscal year to be included with your data submission, this will ensure your data are processed correctly. The secondary focus is to collect vegetation/fuel plot data. LF also welcomes feedback on current products.

LF would like your help to fill in data holes and gaps that exist for disturbance and treatment perimeters from state agencies. State agency data is critical in creating the best products possible. Please visit the State Agency Data webpage to see which state agencies have or have not provided disturbance and treatment data to LF. Your involvement is important to support improved accuracy of the data.

LF Explains: A Day in the life of a LANDFIRE disturbance mapper

Why is it important to contribute disturbance boundary data?

Disturbance/Treatment polygons: Disturbance and treatment polygons are first priority data for updates (LF 2022, LF 2023, etc.) and are processed and maintained in the LF Events Geodatabase.

Disturbance Types

Wildfires

Development

Weather Damage

Insects & Disease

Treatment Types

Harvest/Thinning

Mechanical

Prescribed Fires

Seeding/Planting

Chemical

Attributes: Required

Disturbance/Treatment type

Disturbance/Treatment fiscal year

Attributes: Optional/Important

Disturbance/Treatment name

Start date

End date

Severity

Reporting entity/agency

Notes (e.g., effects on vegetation or fuel)

Vegetation and Fuel Plot data: Vegetation and fuel plot data are processed and maintained in the LF Reference Database (LFRDB). New plot data with species cover information are being used for annual updates and data submissions will be processed as time allows.

Plot Theme	format
geo-referenced vegetation and fuel conditions	tabular - text files, spreadsheets, relational databases
	spatial- shapefiles, geodatabases, coverages

Lidar Data: Lidar data is used to develop vegetation structure models.

LF uses airborne lidar data collections to develop vegetation structure models. Please provide links and contact information to obtain data that are available to the public.
If data are not publicly accessible, please contact the LF Reference Data Administrator to determine the best method for transfer.

Feedback on LF products: Feedback is secondary priority data for updates and remaps. Submit feedback through the LF Help Desk.

Brenda Lundberg
LANDFIRE Reference Data Administrator
blundberg@contractor.usgs.gov

Data Contributions

LANDFIRE (LF) would like to acknowledge and thank everyone who has contributed data.

Disturbance and treatment polygons are processed and maintained in an events geodatabase. The LF Events Geodatabase is used to inform updates to existing vegetation and fuel layers.

LF primary focus for this data call is to collect disturbance and treatment polygons from FY 2025 (10/01/2024-09/30/2025). If you submit more recent or older data, LF will archive the data for evaluation and potential use in future mapping updates or comprehensive remaps. Refer to Disturbance Data Processing to learn how LF evaluates and processes polygon data.

Types of Disturbance and Treatment Data

Disturbance Types
• Wildfires
• Development
• Insect and Disease
• Weather Damage
• Chemical

Treatment Types
• Harvest/Thinning
• Mechanical
• Prescribed Fires
• Seeding/Planting

Attributes Requested

Required Attributes
• Disturbance/Treatment type
• Disturbance/Treatment fiscal year or date

Optional Attributes
• Disturbance/Treatment name
• Start date and/or End date
• Severity
• Reporting entity/agency
• Notes (e.g., effects on veg. or fuel)

Data Format

We will accept data in various formats, including ESRI shapefiles, geodatabases, and ArcInfo coverages. Supporting information, including definitions of the fields and any codes in the data tables, should accompany the data to ensure correct interpretation.

a map of various contributed event polygons

LANDFIRE (LF) would like to acknowledge and thank everyone who has contributed data.

LF relies on user contributed plot data for training sites in mapping processes. All acceptable plot data will be converted and archived in the LF Reference Database (LFRDB) for evaluation and potential use in future mapping needs.

New plot data with species cover information are being used for annual updates. Repeat measurements of plots are also welcome. LF will incorporate additional data as time and production schedules allow or archive data for future evaluation. Refer to Plot Data Processing and Value of Georeferenced Vegetation Plots to LANDFIRE to learn how LF evaluates and processes plot data.

Types of Vegetation of Fuel Plot Data

describes existing vegetation and/or fuel conditions
come from government and non-government sources
was originally compiled for inventory, monitoring, mapping, and research

Attributes Requested

must be geo referenced
can be any subset of the data from the vegetation and/or fuel categories in LF Plot Data Attributes table.

LF Plot Data Attributes

Category

Possible Plot Attributes

Sampling Unit

XY coordinates

Sampling date

Vegetation

Cover type and/or potential vegetation type

Full or partial list of plant taxa with estimates of canopy cover and height

Measurements of individual trees can include diameter, height, crown base height, crown ratio, crown class, or density

Fuel

Counts or biomass measures of fine and coarse woody material

Depth or biomass measures of litter and duff layers

Biomass measures of live and dead shrub or herbaceous material

Data Format:

We will accept data in various formats

tabular - text files, spreadsheets, relational databases
spatial - shapefiles, geodatabases, coverages

Supporting information, including definitions of the fields and any codes in the data tables, should accompany the data to ensure correct interpretation. Project descriptions, final reports, data dictionaries, or plot photos are helpful where available.

The LFRDB Data Dictionary shows the attributes that LF archives from vegetation and fuel plot contributions. Not all attributes are needed for the data to be useful for LF.

LANDFIRE (LF) would like to acknowledge and thank everyone who has contributed data. LF collects data through user submitted data contributions and by actively searching for data on websites and agency data base systems.

LF has acquired three types of data:

Disturbance/Treatment Polygon data - disturbance and vegetation/fuel treatment activities — Public LF Events Geodatabase (available for download)
Vegetation/Fuel plot data - vegetation and fuel information — Public LF Reference Database (LFRDB) (available for download)
Feedback data — which informed all previous LF versions

Compiled Data — For a list of data contributions, refer to the Compiled Data Table. The priority for this data contribution period is polygon disturbance and vegetation/fuel treatment perimeters from FY 2025. Refer to the Time Span field to determine if the most recent data for your area was collected.

Website and Agency Data — The Website Agency DB Table provides a list of websites or agency databases/Systems of Records (SOR) from which LF acquires data. If your data is stored on one of these websites or agency databases/SOR, verify your updated data are posted to ensure it will be evaluated for potential use in the next LF update.

LANDFIRE (LF) forms partnerships with many groups and organizations to enhance the richness of the LF Reference Database (LFRDB) and incorporates those contributions into the LF data production process. Three examples of this type of sharing include:

Bureau of Land Management, Assessment Inventory and Monitoring (BLM-AIM): LF and BLM entered into an agreement with the LANDFIRE Program to provide their extensive plot data base to develop or assess LANDFIRE spatial data layers. The data helps the program improve the usability of program products in rangeland areas. BLM AIM is a Major Partner of LF.

Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA): LF and FIA entered into an agreement in 2005 to include FIA data in the LF production process while maintaining the confidentiality of the FIA locations. FIA is a Major Partner of LF and for NRCS.

Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) - National Resource Inventory (NRI): LF and NRI LF and NRI established a formal working relationship in 2015, then renewed a data sharing relationship again in 2020. In 2009, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), NRCS and the LF Program collaborated in a pilot project to assess the usefulness of NRCS NRI Program rangeland plot data. The assessment involved a remap of the LF Existing Vegetation Type (EVT) layer in a region of Montana. NRCS is a Supporting Partner of LF.

Contribute Feedback

LANDFIRE (LF) welcomes feedback on its current data products. Feedback information addresses potential discrepancies between existing products and known field conditions. Submit feedback to LF's Helpdesk.

Feedback on data helps LF:

understand the issue(s)
develop systematic approaches for potential updates
evaluate efforts for improvement (if within the scope of updates)

Understand that LF does not simply substitute or "stamp in" the data you provide into the LF layers. Rather, LF uses this data to help determine areas of improvement in LF production processes in order to provide a consistent product across all lands.

LF Program Letters

2025 Data Contribution Opportunity Letter

LF Departmental/Agency Direction Letters

DOI Data Contribution

A LANDFIRE Disturbance explained

Additional Information

LF Reference Data Requirements minimum information needed for each data type and additional attributes that are highly beneficial to improve data products and provides disturbance and treatment polygon data needs

LF Data Draw Frequently Asked Questions related to contributing data

LF Events Geodatabase Data Dictionary shows the attributes that LF archives from disturbance and treatment data contributions.

Developing Auto-Keys for LF Vegetation Mapping: 2014-2015 CONUS Project Report

Does LANDFIRE accept Events from previous years?

No. The production schedule does not allow time for the LANDFIRE team to go back and add Events from previous years.

Map of the US and AK and HI in small boxes offset.

The LANDFIRE 2023 Update (LF 2023) product suite represents the final step in the ongoing goal to move towards annual updates and reduced latency. LANDFIRE'S goal has been to release an annual update every year that represents one year, specifically the previous year. Similar to the LF 2022 Update, in LF 2023, disturbances from the previous year are represented in current year products. The LF 2022 Update was the first map product suite in which disturbances from the year prior are represented in current year products. Continuing the work of the annual vegetation and fuel updates, the LF 2023 Update suite provides updated layers that add to, and account for disturbance on the landscape that has occurred through October of 2023. This means the LANDFIRE team has been able to improve production efficiencies and turn around disturbances faster than ever, providing our community of users the newest data faster.

Improvements Featured in the LF 2023 Update

The use of 4 seasonal composites in disturbance mapping, doubling LANDFIRE’s use of satellite imagery
Mapped disturbance events in the 90km buffer area surrounding the Conterminous United States (CONUS)
Two new types of Annual Disturbance products – Limited and Preliminary Annual Disturbance
New fuels calibration for the Southeast GeoArea, Colorado, and Oklahoma
An updated Operational Roads product for CONUS that incorporates National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2021
The return of Fire Regime Group (FRG), Fire Return Interval (FRI), and Percent Fire Severity (PFS) as standalone products. The products will be applicable to LF 2016 Remap for CONUS and HI
Updated BPS, FRG, FRI, and PFS products for AK
An updated Fuel Characteristics Classification System (FCCS) product for all extents
Sampled GEDI canopy height data as additional training data for the tree height model

A new methodology update for Existing Vegetation Cover (EVC), Height (EVH), and Type (EVT) products within CONUS

In the past LANDFIRE updates have used millions of rulesets developed from local and national experts across the United States to update mapped vegetation where disturbance has occurred. These rulesets considered the initial vegetation type, cover, and height and applied a transition rule using the disturbance type, severity, and length of time since the disturbance occurred to produce an updated EVT, EVC, and EVH products for a new version.

Since circa LF 2016 Remap (LF Remap), these rules have required to Remap inputs of EVT, EVC, and EVH. This created challenges for the update process because areas that had been disturbed in the few years prior to 2016 remained unchanged from that snapshot in time.

For LF 2023, LANDFIRE will map the lifeform, cover, and height of existing vegetation in areas that LANDFIRE has mapped as disturbed over the last twenty years (see the LANDFIRE Annual Disturbance product) using our machine learning methods. LANDFIRE focused on updating areas disturbed over the last 20 years since these are the areas that have most likely changed the most.

Graphic showing a layer with a plus sign to another layer, with an arrow to the right of them combined. — Figure 1) New vegetation modeled using 2023 satellite imagery where there has been a disturbance in the last twenty years is “overlaid on top of” LF 2016 Remap vegetation modeled using circa 2016 satellite imagery.

LF Office Hours: New Methods Explained: Improving Vegetation

Your guide to Everything LANDFIRE in 2024

2023 - 24 Missoula Fire Lab Seminar Series

NEW Products included in LF 2023

To provide sooner delivery of LANDFIRE Annual Disturbance data and to ensure a more complete record, LANDFIRE has decided to distribute more Annual Disturbance products.

What does this change mean? There are now three Annual Disturbance products released in a single version – each with a unique name and identity.

Limited Annual Disturbance (LDist) is a new product making its debut with the LF 2023 Update. LDist is designed to provide a first cut of landscape change information as soon as possible to support time-sensitive updates such as risk management efforts. This early release does not include satellite change detection to capture additional disturbances and does not provide image-based severity for contributed events. Some fire program data includes severity which is present in the LANDFIRE LDist product. However, many fires and disturbance events lack severity assignments, therefore LDist severity is a default based on disturbance type (Clearcut = High Severity, Wildfire = Medium Severity, all others including prescribed fire = Low Severity).

LDist includes data inputs from the following sources:

Fire program perimeters and burn severity where available from four sources: Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS), Burned Area Reflectance Classification (BARC), Rapid Assessment of Vegetation Condition after Wildfire (RAVG), Landsat Burned Area (BA)
Event polygon datasets submitted from three national contributors: US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS), and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Event polygon datasets obtained from four online national sources: Forest Service Activity Tracking System (FACTS), National Fire Plan Operations and Reporting System (NFPORS), National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), USFS National Insect and Disease Risk Map (NIDRM)

The LDist product featured in the LF 2023 update (named LDist23) is the first of three Annual Disturbance products being released in 2024. LDist23 is an early "draft" of the LANDFIRE Annual Disturbance product and includes fires, disturbance events, and land management activities for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY2023) from trusted national sources obtained in November 2023.

flow diagram that shows the release of the new disturbances

Preliminary Annual Disturbance (PDist) is another new product making its debut with the LF 2023 Update. PDist is designed to provide a second "draft" of landscape change information and will have multiple extent releases throughout 2024:

Conterminous United States (CONUS) – by GeoArea
Alaska (AK)
Hawaii (HI)
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (PRVI)

PDist includes disturbance events for FY2023 from regional sources obtained in November 2023. Additionally, similar to annual disturbance products in past versions, PDist includes results from LANDFIRE satellite change detection and image-based severity. A complete list of data contributors can be found here: LANDFIRE Program: Contribute Data - Previous Contributions (usgs.gov).

The PDist product featured in the LF 2023 Update (named PDist23) will be used to update the Vegetation, Fuel (including Fuel Disturbance), and Fire Regime suite of products included in releases throughout the rest of 2024.

The Final Annual Disturbance (Dist) product is the "final" draft of Annual Disturbance data for a give version. The Annual Disturbance product included in the LF 2023 Update (named Dist23) releases beginning in the fall of 2024. Compared to PDist23, Dist23 includes additional fires and disturbance events for FY2023, these events were harvested from a second "pull" of the national online sources in June 2024.

The Public Events Geodatabase for LF 2023 releases in late 2024 and will include events captured from this second "pull".
The events harvested from the second "pull" will not be incorporated into the production of Fuel Disturbance (FDist23) and other Fuel, Vegetation, and Fire Regime products for the LF 2023 Update. These events will be included in the next version (coming in 2025).

LF 2023 Update Products and Descriptions

THEME	PRODUCT NAME	ABBREVIATION
Disturbance	Limited Disturbance	LDist23
	Preliminary Annual Disturbance	PDist23
	2023 Annual Disturbance	Dist23
	Historical Disturbance	HDist23
	Fuel Disturbance	FDist23
Historic Fire Regime	Fire Regime Groups	FRG
	Fire Return Interval	FRI
	Percent Fire Severity	PFS
Fuel	13 Anderson Fire Behavior Fuel Models	FBFM13
	40 Scott and Burgan Fire Behavior Fuel Models	FBFM40
	Forest Canopy Bulk Density	CBD
	Forest Canopy Base Height	CBH
	Forest Canopy Cover	CC
	Forest Canopy Height	CH
	Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System	CFFDRS
	Operational Roads	Roads
	Fuel Vegetation Cover	FVC
	Fuel Vegetation Height	FVH
	Fuel Vegetation Type	FVT
	Fuel Rulesets Database	FRDB
	Fuel Characteristic Classification System Fuelbeds	FCCS
Reference	Public Events Geodatabase	EventsDB
	Public Exotics Geodatabase	ExoticsDB
	Public Model Ready Events Geodatabase	ModelReadyDB
Vegetation	Biophysical Settings	BPS
	Existing Vegetation Type	EVT
	Existing Vegetation Cover	EVC
	Existing Vegetation Height	EVH
	Succession Classes	SClass
	Vegetation Condition Class	VCC
	Vegetation Departure Index	VDep

LF 2023 Update Schedule

LF 2023 is being released by Conterminous United States (CONUS) GeoArea beginning in May 2024 with the SW along with Alaska (AK). Remaining GeoAreas, Hawaii (HI), and select Insular Areas (IA), Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (PRVI) will be later in the year.

2023 GeoAreas