Past: Historical Ecosystems
LANDFIRE’s Biophysical Settings (BpSs)
BpS models represent the vegetation system that may have been dominant on the landscape prior to Euro-American settlement. These models are based on a combination of the current environment and an approximation of the historical disturbance regime. Read more.
Check out this 3-minute tutorial for a quick refresher on the basics of Biophysical Settings Models.
Use this page as a starting point to explore the most prevalent BpSs in the Flathead National Forest. In addition to the charts and maps, the historical disturbance data can be directly accessed using this site.
Summary
- The Rocky Mountain Subalpine Mesic-Wet Spruce-Fir Forest and Woodland was the most dominant ecosystem historically, covering ~42% of the area.
- The top ten most prevalent BpSs covered ~90% of the landscape. LANDFIRE mapped a total of 56 types, though most were minimally mapped (sometimes just a few pixels).
- LANDFIRE models indicate there would have been ~ 90k acres of disturbance annually, with ~24k acres being categorized as wind/weather/stress.
Scroll down to explore the “historical disturbances per ecosystem” using the interactive web app.
Most Prevalent Biophysical Settings
Historic Annual Acres Burned (per ecosystem)
Top Historical Fire Regimes
Historical Disturbances (per ecosystem; ecosystems that covered < 1% of landscape removed)
Data Table
| ZONE | BPS_MODEL | BPS_NAME | GROUPVEG | FRI_REPLAC | FRI_MIXED | FRI_SURFAC | FRG_NEW | ACRES | REL_PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 10560_10_19 | Rocky Mountain Subalpine Mesic-Wet Spruce-Fir Forest and Woodland | Conifer | 181 | NA | NA | IV-B | 1,117,373 | 42.0 |
| 19 | 10460_10_19_20 | Northern Rocky Mountain Subalpine Woodland and Parkland | Conifer | 401 | 340 | NA | III-B | 454,132 | 17.1 |
| 19 | 10452_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Dry-Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest-Larch | Conifer | 202 | 69 | 137 | III-A | 199,063 | 7.5 |
| 19 | 10451_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Dry-Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest-Ponderosa Pine-Douglas-fir | Conifer | 148 | 51 | 39 | I-C | 161,357 | 6.1 |
| 19 | 11590_10_19 | Rocky Mountain Montane Riparian Systems | Riparian | 100 | 101 | NA | III-A | 126,669 | 4.8 |
| 10 | 10452_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Dry-Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest-Larch | Conifer | 202 | 69 | 137 | III-A | 122,449 | 4.6 |
| 10 | 10560_10_19 | Rocky Mountain Subalpine Mesic-Wet Spruce-Fir Forest and Woodland | Conifer | 181 | NA | NA | IV-B | 100,933 | 3.8 |
| 19 | 10550_10_19 | Rocky Mountain Subalpine Dry-Mesic Spruce-Fir Forest and Woodland | Conifer | 205 | 412 | NA | IV-B | 63,130 | 2.4 |
| NA | NA | Barren-Rock/Sand/Clay | Barren-Rock/Sand/Clay | NA | NA | NA | NA | 50,227 | 1.9 |
| NA | NA | Open Water | Open Water | NA | NA | NA | NA | 47,882 | 1.8 |
| 19 | 10470_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest | Conifer | 186 | 139 | NA | III-A | 48,066 | 1.8 |
| 10 | 10451_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Dry-Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest-Ponderosa Pine-Douglas-fir | Conifer | 148 | 51 | 39 | I-C | 27,864 | 1.0 |
| 19 | 11660_9_10_19 | Middle Rocky Mountain Montane Douglas-fir Forest and Woodland | Conifer | 112 | 54 | 106 | I-C | 26,314 | 1.0 |
| 10 | 11590_10_19 | Rocky Mountain Montane Riparian Systems | Riparian | 100 | 101 | NA | III-A | 21,960 | 0.8 |
| 19 | 10453_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Dry-Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest-Grand Fir | Conifer | 223 | 106 | NA | III-A | 20,436 | 0.8 |
| 10 | 10550_10_19 | Rocky Mountain Subalpine Dry-Mesic Spruce-Fir Forest and Woodland | Conifer | 205 | 412 | NA | IV-B | 16,858 | 0.6 |
| 19 | 10060 | Rocky Mountain Alpine/Montane Sparsely Vegetated Systems | Sparse | NA | NA | NA | NA | 10,848 | 0.4 |
| 10 | 11660_9_10_19 | Middle Rocky Mountain Montane Douglas-fir Forest and Woodland | Conifer | 112 | 54 | 106 | I-C | 8,424 | 0.3 |
| 19 | 11600_10_19 | Rocky Mountain Subalpine/Upper Montane Riparian Systems | Riparian | 201 | 133 | NA | III-A | 5,716 | 0.2 |
| 19 | 11610_9_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Conifer Swamp | Conifer | 386 | NA | NA | V-A | 6,393 | 0.2 |
| 10 | 10453_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Dry-Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest-Grand Fir | Conifer | 223 | 106 | NA | III-A | 2,779 | 0.1 |
| 10 | 11610_9_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Conifer Swamp | Conifer | 386 | NA | NA | V-A | 1,517 | 0.1 |
| 19 | 10110_6_10_12_17_18_19 | Rocky Mountain Aspen Forest and Woodland | Hardwood | 68 | 57 | NA | I-C | 2,247 | 0.1 |
| 19 | 10472_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest-Cedar Groves | Conifer | 374 | 1,990 | NA | V-A | 1,559 | 0.1 |
| 19 | 10530_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Woodland and Savanna | Conifer | 354 | 56 | 17 | I-B | 2,520 | 0.1 |
| 19 | 11060_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Montane-Foothill Deciduous Shrubland | Shrubland | 100 | 446 | NA | IV-A | 2,480 | 0.1 |
| 19 | 11390_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Lower Montane-Foothill-Valley Grassland | Grassland | 17 | NA | NA | II-C | 2,324 | 0.1 |
| 19 | 11450_9_10_19 | Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Mesic Meadow | Grassland | 40 | 160 | NA | II-C | 1,690 | 0.1 |
| NA | NA | NoData | NoData | NA | NA | NA | NA | 79 | 0.0 |
| NA | NA | Perennial Ice/Snow | Perennial Ice/Snow | NA | NA | NA | NA | 987 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 10060 | Rocky Mountain Alpine/Montane Sparsely Vegetated Systems | Sparse | NA | NA | NA | NA | 9 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 10110_6_10_12_17_18_19 | Rocky Mountain Aspen Forest and Woodland | Hardwood | 68 | 57 | NA | I-C | 751 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 10460_10_19_20 | Northern Rocky Mountain Subalpine Woodland and Parkland | Conifer | 401 | 340 | NA | III-B | 60 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 10470_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest | Conifer | 186 | 139 | NA | III-A | 1,214 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 10530_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Woodland and Savanna | Conifer | 354 | 56 | 17 | I-B | 22 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 10790_6_9_10_12_16_17_18 | Great Basin Xeric Mixed Sagebrush Shrubland | Shrubland | 94 | 831 | NA | IV-A | 5 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 11060_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Montane-Foothill Deciduous Shrubland | Shrubland | 100 | 446 | NA | IV-A | 63 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 11230_10_18 | Columbia Plateau Steppe and Grassland | Grassland | 50 | NA | NA | IV-A | 1 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 11240_10_12_17_18_19_21 | Columbia Plateau Low Sagebrush Steppe | Shrubland | 201 | NA | NA | V-A | 2 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 11250_1_7_8_9_10_19 | Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Steppe | Shrubland | 59 | NA | NA | IV-A | 7 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 11260_1_7_8_9_10_19 | Inter-Mountain Basins Montane Sagebrush Steppe | Shrubland | 31 | NA | NA | II-C | 118 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 11390_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Lower Montane-Foothill-Valley Grassland | Grassland | 17 | NA | NA | II-C | 563 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 11400_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Upper Montane Grassland | Grassland | 146 | NA | NA | IV-B | 84 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 11450_9_10_19 | Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Mesic Meadow | Grassland | 40 | 160 | NA | II-C | 21 | 0.0 |
| 10 | 11600_10_19 | Rocky Mountain Subalpine/Upper Montane Riparian Systems | Riparian | 201 | 133 | NA | III-A | 992 | 0.0 |
| 19 | 10010 | Inter-Mountain Basins Sparsely Vegetated Systems | Sparse | NA | NA | NA | NA | 31 | 0.0 |
| 19 | 10090_19 | Northwestern Great Plains Aspen Forest and Parkland | Hardwood | 83 | 396 | NA | IV-A | 15 | 0.0 |
| 19 | 10490_19_20_21_23_28_29 | Rocky Mountain Foothill Limber Pine-Juniper Woodland | Conifer | 385 | NA | NA | V-A | 164 | 0.0 |
| 19 | 10700_10_19_28 | Rocky Mountain Alpine Dwarf-Shrubland | Shrubland | 228 | NA | NA | V-A | 11 | 0.0 |
| 19 | 10800_10_19 | Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland | Shrubland | 80 | NA | NA | IV-A | 2 | 0.0 |
| 19 | 11150_10_19 | Inter-Mountain Basins Juniper Savanna | Conifer | 824 | 438 | 560 | III-B | 4 | 0.0 |
| 19 | 11250_1_7_8_9_10_19 | Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Steppe | Shrubland | 59 | NA | NA | IV-A | 67 | 0.0 |
| 19 | 11260_1_7_8_9_10_19 | Inter-Mountain Basins Montane Sagebrush Steppe | Shrubland | 31 | NA | NA | II-C | 722 | 0.0 |
| 19 | 11400_10_19 | Northern Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Upper Montane Grassland | Grassland | 146 | NA | NA | IV-B | 57 | 0.0 |
| 19 | 11430_9_19_21_28 | Rocky Mountain Alpine Fell-Field | Grassland | 525 | NA | NA | V-B | 0 | 0.0 |
| 19 | 11540_10_19 | Inter-Mountain Basins Montane Riparian Systems | Riparian | 173 | NA | NA | IV-B | 2 | 0.0 |
| 19 | 11662_19 | Middle Rocky Mountain Montane Douglas-fir Forest and Woodland-Fire-maintained Savanna | Conifer | 202 | 151 | 23 | I-C | 78 | 0.0 |
| 19 | 11670_10_19 | Rocky Mountain Poor-Site Lodgepole Pine Forest | Conifer | 335 | 2,500 | NA | V-A | 145 | 0.0 |