Ecologists, land managers and conservation planners are often challenged to meet restoration and conservation goals that require reliable data and tools for evaluating ecosystem health, and to develop treatment plans that can be used in the field. But where does one find the models that serve as baselines for analysis, and how do planners modify models to address specific situations and locations?

To provide the data that land managers need, the LANDFIRE Program and The Nature Conservancy announce the availability of Version 1.0 of a manual, Adapting LANDFIRE Vegetation Dynamics Models, (downloadable by clicking on the title, above) that can help ecologists and land managers evaluate and compare the costs and benefits of available management options and restoration strategies. The manual is intended to help users adapt LANDFIRE Vegetation Dynamics Models developed for Pre-European settlement conditions for use in modeling and exploring current and future landscapes.

Intended for those familiar with the Vegetation Dynamics Development Tool, the manual provides step-by-step, screen-by-screen instructions that inform users about the ways scenario-planning can be accomplished. Two “real world” examples—one from Utah and the other from Georgia—illustrate how to add invasive species, management options and budget constraints to help create the most realistic model possible so as to support conservation planning processes. Once adapted, these models may be useful in predicting future vegetation conditions, exploring the impacts of potential environmental changes and comparing the results of different management options. Compared to developing ecological models from scratch, adapting the LANDFIRE models will be much faster, easier and more feasible for resource professionals without much prior modeling experience.

Also available is the entire LANDFIRE Vegetation Model Library on CD (excluding Alaska and Hawaii map zones, which will be added to the CD later). To receive the Manual and Model Library on CD and in hard copy formats, contact Jeannie Patton.