Leica BLK360 G1 Terrestrial LiDAR Scans from the 2022 Department of Defense Wildland Fire Science Initiative Fort Stewart Campaign

To characterize fine-scale variations in vegetation structure, quantify heterogeneity, and capture fuel estimation and consumption, Leica BLK360 G1 terrestrial LiDAR scans were conducted across the E and F units. This dataset provides the scans collected before (February 2022) and after (March 2022) the three prescribed burns.

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Last Updated July 4, 2025, 09:33 (UTC)
Created July 4, 2025, 09:33 (UTC)
Source https://wfsi-data.org/view/doi%3A10.60594/W4D59M
associated_parties Gregg Chapman, gregg.chapman@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Clemson, SC, contributor | Derek Wallace, derek.wallace@usda.gov, Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL, contributor | Wade Ross, wross@talltimbers.org, Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL, contributor | Jacob Ney, Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL, contributor | Vanessa Niemczyk, Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL, contributor
award Object-based aggregation of fuel structures, physics-based fire behavior and self-organizing smoke plumes for improved fuel, fire, and smoke management on military lands.
creators Eva Louise Loudermilk, eva.l.loudermilk@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8191-8670 | Chad Hoffman, c.hoffman@colostate.edu, Colorado State University, Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship , https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8715-937X | Andrew Hudak, andrew.hudak@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7480-1458 | Christie Hawley, christie.m.hawley@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9105-2065 | Scott Pokswinski, spokswinski@newmexicoconsortium.org, New Mexico Consortium, Center for Applied Fire and Ecosystems Science, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5753-4132
doi doi:10.60594/W4D59M
encoding utf8
funder U. S. Department of Defense (DoD), Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) , http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100013316
harvest_object_id e70cd65c-bd3b-4a87-8a75-12002eb2a0d6
harvest_source_id a2637971-af12-457f-ae4a-831d2202a539
harvest_source_title WIFIRE Commons
maintainor Christie Hawley, christie.m.hawley@usda.gov
method Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield is in Hinesville, Georgia, approximately 30 miles west of Savannah. Of the 273,000 acres, 228,511 were prescribed burned across Fiscal Years 2019-2021. In 2022, E16.2 (254 hectares), E16.3 (257 hectares), F6.3 (260 hectares), and F6.4 (397 hectares) were available for prescribed burning. Located in the western half of Fort Stewart, F6.3 and F6.4 (F units) are located just below Salem Cemetery, and E16.2 and E16.3 (E units) are bisected by Taylors Creek. The E units were last burned February 28, 2019 as one unit. F6.3 was last burned April 13, 2019. F6.4 was last burned April 14, 2019. In 2022, the research burns occurred on March 2nd (F6.4), 3rd (F6.3), and 5th (E units). In February 2022, 40 macroplots were randomly established in each burn unit for a total of 120 macroplots. In each burn unit, the macroplots were distributed across the dominant forest types—wetland edge (10 plots), burn unit edge (10 plots), and upland pine which includes flatwoods and remnant plantation (20 plots). The interior wetlands were not sampled as they are often inundated with water and typically do not ignite or contribute to fire spread. Before and after the prescribed burns, at each macroplot, one lidar scan was collected in the center of the plot using a Leica BLK360 G1 (Leica Geosystems, Heerbrugg, Switzerland) terrestrial laser scanner as described in Pokswinski et al. 2021 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2021.101484). The BLK Data Manager Utility was used to export the data from the scanner into a proprietary BLK format. The Leica Cyclone Register 360 PLUS (BLK Edition) was used to convert the proprietary BLK file format to a PTX format. For macroplots with clip plots, a 0.5 x 0.5 meter quadrat was used to delineate the pre and post-burn clip plots in the scan area. Refer to “Vegetation Biomass and Voxel Data from the 2022 Department of Defense Wildland Fire Science Initiative Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield Campaign” dataset for clip plot, biomass, and voxel metadata.
project Funding Awards RC20-1346 and RC19-1119 for DoD Wildland Fire Science Initiative (WFSI)
spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-81.717107, 31.983768], [-81.846741, 31.983768], [-81.846741, 32.078577], [-81.717107, 32.078577], [-81.717107, 31.983768]]]}
temporal {"endTime": "2022-03-06", "startTime": "2022-02-15"}