Landscapes

The landscape is the spatial data needed to run FlamMap and must include five basic rasterized data themes,

• elevation,
• slope,
• aspect,
• fuel model,
• canopy cover.

The landscape may also include optional files for,

• stand height,
• crown base height,
• canopy bulk density,
• Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS).

Within the United States, pre-made Landscapes are available from landfire.gov, as described below. Alternatively landscapes can be created within FlamMap using the Landscape > Create Landscape File... command.

Creating a Landscape

Creating your own landscapes requires the support of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to generate, manage, and provide spatial data themes containing fuels, vegetation, and topography. Five raster data themes are required to run FlamMap; these include elevation, slope, aspect, fuel model, and canopy cover and must be in ARC GRID ASCII (.ASC) or GeoTIFF (.TIF) format and combined to a single Landscape (.LCP) or GeoTIFF (.TIF) File. All themes must be:

• co-registered (e.g. have the same reference point and units)
• identical resolution (e.g. cell size must be the same for all themes)
• same extent (the corners of the rectangular spatial region must be the same)
• same projection and datum (the methods to show a curved world as a flat surface)

Raster File Data Units

The optional parameters that are not provided by a raster file can be set as constants across the entire landscape in the "Landscape File Generation" dialog.

Landscapes can be loaded and/or saved in two formats, a Landscape (.LCP) File or a GeoTIFF (.TIF) format file.

Landscape File (.LCP) Format

Within the United States, pre-made Landscape (.LCP) Files with a valid Projection (.PRJ) File can be found at LandFire Data Distribution site.

An Landscape (.LCP) File is a binary file comprised of a header and a body of short integers for each of the themes it contains. The header contains information on the bounds of the area, the resolution of the cells, and the units of the themes. An optional Projection (.PRJ) File may be present in the same folder.

GeoTIFF File (.TIF) Format

Within the United States, pre-made LandFire landscapes in a GeoTIFF (.TIF) format file can be downloaded with the FlamMap Get Landscape tool.

FlamMap can also create a landscape as a GeoTIFF (.TIF) format file with the Landscape > Create Landscape File... command. Valid projection information is required to save in this format. These usage and limitations apply:

• Creates a multi-band GeoTIFF (.TIF) file.
• Requires a valid projection file.
• Allows for the creation of landscapes in a GeoTIFF File format compatible for use in WindNinja, ArcMap, and QGIS.

An existing Landscape (.LCP) File or Analysis Area can also be converted to the GeoTIFF File format, see the Convert LCP File to GeoTIFF topic.