Datasets for "Model-based assessment of prescribed burning frequency to mitigate wildfire risks in tallgrass prairie"

Abstract of Manuscript:
The growing size and number of wildfire events over recent decades suggests the need for developing effective strategies for wildfire mitigation. Prescribed burning is employed in both forests and grasslands for wildfire prevention, although the efficacy of this strategy is understudied within grasslands. Using collected fuel load data from the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve and the FARSITE fire modelling software, we investigated prescribed burning’s effect on future wildfire behavior within a tallgrass prairie under varying fuel loads and fire weather conditions. We estimated wildfire behavior under six fuel load conditions, ranging from 0.5 to 5 years since the last burn, and seven categories of fire weather conditions using the calculated Burning Index (BI) at our study site in Northeast Oklahoma. From our FARSITE simulations using the Monte Carlo strategy, we collected the outputs for Heat per Unit Area, Fire Spread, and Flame Length, and used these variables to test the efficacy of prescribed burning in mitigating future wildfire behavior. The measured fuel loads during the postfire period ranged from approximately 3 to 4 metric tons/ha after one year since burn and increased to 4.5 to over 6 metric tons/ha by five years since burn. The average Flame Length was over 1.2 m at only 0.5 years after the last burn under the mild fire weather conditions (BI between 20 and 30), suggesting that the rapid recovery of fuel loads within tallgrass prairie reduces prescribed fire effectiveness at mitigating wildfire impacts. Moreover, under extreme fire weather conditions (BI > 80), the simulated Flame Lengths was over 2.4 m within all fuel load conditions, making fire suppression very difficult. Our results show that Flame Lengths are driven by the interaction of fuel and weather conditions, and our findings indicate that both must be accounted for when planning for the use of prescribed fire as a wildfire management tool. Additionally, within tallgrass prairies and other high productivity grasslands, our findings suggest that the frequent application of prescribed fire is necessary to suppress future fire behavior.