The Comprehensive Fire Information Reconciled Emissions (CFIRE) inventory: Wildland fire emissions developed for the 2011 and 2014 U.S. National Emissions Inventory

Larkin, NK; Raffuse, SM; Huang, S; Pavlovic, N; Lahm, P; Rao, V

HERO ID

7275930

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year

2020

Language

English

PMID

32915705

HERO ID 7275930
In Press No
Year 2020
Title The Comprehensive Fire Information Reconciled Emissions (CFIRE) inventory: Wildland fire emissions developed for the 2011 and 2014 U.S. National Emissions Inventory
Authors Larkin, NK; Raffuse, SM; Huang, S; Pavlovic, N; Lahm, P; Rao, V
Journal Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association
Volume 70
Issue 11
Page Numbers 1165-1185
Abstract Wildland fire emissions from both wildfires and prescribed fires represent a major component of overall U.S. emissions. Obtaining an accurate, time-resolved inventory of these emissions is important for many purposes, including to account for emissions of greenhouse gases and short-lived climate forcers, as well as to model air quality for health, regulatory, and planning purposes. For the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2011 and 2014 National Emissions Inventories, a new methodology was developed to reconcile the wide range of available fire information sources into a single coherent inventory. The Comprehensive Fire Information Reconciled Emissions (CFIRE) inventory effort utilized satellite fire detections as well as a large number of national, state, tribal, and local databases. The methodology and results for CONUS and Alaska were documented and compared against other fire emissions databases, and the efficacy of the overall effort was evaluated. Results show the overall spatial pattern differences and relative seasonality of wildfires and prescribed fires across the country. Prescribed burn emissions occurred primarily in non-summer months were concentrated in the Southeast, Northwest, and lower Midwest, and were relatively consistent year to year. Wildfire emissions were much more variable but occurred primarily in the summer and fall. Overall, CFIRE represents a third of total emitted PM2.5 across all sources in the National Emissions Inventory, with prescribed fires accounting for nearly half of all CFIRE emissions. Compared with other wildland fire emissions inventories derived solely from satellite detections, the CFIRE inventory shows markedly increased emissions, reflecting the importance of the multiple national and regional databases included in CFIRE in capturing small fires and prescribed fires in particular. Implications: Wildland fire emissions inventories need to incorporate multiple sources of fire information in order to better represent the full range of fire activity, including prescribed burns and smaller fires. For the 2011 and 2014 U.S. National Emissions Inventory, a methodology was developed to collect, associate, and reconcile fire information from satellite data as well as a large number of national, regional, state, local, and tribal fire information databases across the country. The resulting emissions inventory shows the importance of this type of integration and reconciliation when compared against other emissions inventories for the same period.
Doi 10.1080/10962247.2020.1802365
Pmid 32915705
Wosid WOS:000572241700001
Is Certified Translation No
Dupe Override No
Is Public Yes
Language Text English