Tree and Sapling Observations from the 2022 Department of Defense Wildland Fire Science Initiative Fort Stewart Campaign

Trees and saplings were measured within 61 fixed-radius plots to characterize overstory vegetation across the E, F-6.3, and F-6.4 burn units. This dataset is part of the Wildland Fire Science Initiative (WFSI) research burn campaign held at Fort Stewart from March 2 to 5, 2022. In addition, pre- and post-fire data collection occurred before and after these dates. See the most recent version of the contextual dataset “Fort Stewart 2022: Contextual data for Wildland Fire Science Initiative (WFSI) Research Burn Campaign” for more information about the campaign (see Annotations section for has Metadata link).

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Last Updated July 4, 2025, 09:33 (UTC)
Created July 4, 2025, 09:33 (UTC)
Source https://wfsi-data.org/view/doi%3A10.60594/W4MS3D
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 Andrew Hudak, andrew.hudak@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Moscow ID, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7480-1458 | Eva Louise Loudermilk, eva.l.loudermilk@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Athens GA, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8191-8670 | Nuria Sánchez-López, sanchezlnuria.fuo@uniovi.es, University of Oviedo, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0455-3951 | Christie Hawley, christie.m.hawley@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Athens GA, 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 | Joseph Paki, jepaki@mtu.edu, Michigan Tech, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4936-218X | Gregg Chapman, gregg.chapman@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Athens GA, https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6735-9867 | Benjamin Bright, benjamin.c.bright@usda.gov, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Moscow ID, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8363-0803
doi doi:10.60594/W4MS3D
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 4c575a28-a942-4ea4-ab7f-8115e99ebfa5
harvest_source_id a2637971-af12-457f-ae4a-831d2202a539
harvest_source_title WIFIRE Commons
maintainor Andrew Hudak, andrew.hudak@usda.gov
method Trees and saplings were measured post-fire in a total of 61 fixed-radius plots within burn units E, F-6.3, and F-6.4 from March 2-6, 2022. Plot center coordinates were recorded using professional-grade GNSS receivers. Receivers logged a total >100 raw locations per plot center. Raw locations were then differential corrected and averaged via post processing to produce one corrected location per plot center, with an estimated horizontal accuracy of <1 m. All trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH, 1.37 m above ground) >10 cm were measured within fixed-radius plots with radii of 11.3 m. Measurements included tree species, DBH, and health status. For the largest and smallest (DBH) trees per plot per species, tree height, tree crown base height, and tree live crown base height were also recorded. Saplings, defined as trees <1.37 m in height and <10 cm in DBH, were tallied by quadrant within smaller nested fixed-radius plots (plot radii = 5.6 m) that shared the same center point as the larger tree plots. Recorded sapling attributes included a tally of saplings by quadrant, sapling species, and sapling health. After differential correction, plot locations were displayed and inspected in a geographic information system to check for anomalous locations. Tree and sapling observation values were also checked for logical consistency and anomalous values. Categorical variables such as tree species code were checked and data entry errors were corrected. Continous variable distributions were checked for unrealistic values and outliers. Four tree observations were found to have recorded live crown base heights that were lower than crown base heights (logically impossible); for these trees, recorded live crown base heights were raised to recorded crown base heights. This change was only significant for one tree record, Tree #1 of Plot F47, where live crown base height was raised from 14.4 to 16.3 m to match the recorded crown base height of 16.3 m.
project Funding Award RC20-1346: 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.
spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-81.72004, 31.98477], [-81.84105, 31.98477], [-81.84105, 32.07611], [-81.72004, 32.07611], [-81.72004, 31.98477]]]}
temporal {"endTime": "2022-03-06", "startTime": "2022-03-02"}