Data From: Spot-fire distance increases disproportionately for wildfires compared to prescribed fires as grasslands transition to Juniperus woodlands

Woody encroachment is one of the greatest threats to grasslands globally, depleting a suite of ecosystem services, including forage production and grassland biodiversity. Recent evidence also suggests that woody encroachment increases wildfire danger, particularly in the Great Plains of North America, where highly volatile Juniperus spp. convert grasslands to an alternative woodland state. Spot-fire distances are a critical component of wildfire danger, describing the distance over which embers from one fire can cause a new fire ignition, potentially far away from fire suppression personnel. We assess changes in spot-fire distances as grasslands experience Juniperus encroachment to an alternative woodland state and how spot-fire distances differ under typical prescribed fire conditions compared to conditions observed during wildfire. We use BehavePlus to calculate spot-fire distances for these scenarios within the Loess Canyons Experimental Landscape, Nebraska, U.S.A., a 73,000-ha ecore..., This data was generated using BehavePlus software to calculate maximum spot-fire distance under multiple different wind speeds and woody encroachment scenarios. BehavePlus models were parameterized using wind speeds listed in the data set along with additional fuel parameters outlined in the associated manuscript (10.1371/journal.pone.0283816), which were used to represent 4 different encroachment scenarios: grassland state, encroached grassland, torching tree, and woodland. Prescribed fires were predicted to only occur under wind speeds between 0–20 mph while wildfires could occur between 0–80 mph., BehavePlus (https://www.frames.gov/behaveplus/home) was used to generate the data included in this submission.