BRIGHTB_2024-01-31_1212 AndrewHudakUSFS Rocky Mountain Research Stationandrew.hudak@usda.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7480-1458 SethBigelowTall Timberssbigelow@talltimbers.org https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0052-191X NuriaSánchez-LópezUniversity of Idahonsanchezlopez@uidaho.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0455-3951 VanessaNiemczykTall Timbersvniemczyk12@gmail.com CarlosSilvaUniversity of Floridac.silva@ufl.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7844-3560 contributor Mauro AllessandroKarasinkiUniversity of Florida contributor JinyiXiaUniversity of Florida contributor E. LouiseLoudermilkUSFS Southern Research Stationeva.l.loudermilk@usda.gov contributor KaleighHoynesTall Timbers Research, Inc. contributor SaphiraOrrionTall Timbers Research, Inc. contributor BenjaminBrightUSFS Rocky Mountain Research Stationbenjamin.c.bright@usda.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8363-0803 contributor Field measurements collected before and after 2023 study fires at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) to document fuel loads (large diameter fuels, litter depth, duff depth) and trees in a 3-year rough in sandhill longleaf pine, and the effects of study fires on these variables. Fuel loads, which were measured along transects, were co-located with tree observations, which were measured within fixed-radius plots. These field observations were also co-located with three-dimensional fuel and laser scan plots to allow for leveraging of these other data. This dataset is part of the Wildland Fire Science Initiative (WFSI) research burn campaign held at Eglin Air Force Base from 3-11-2023 to 3-19-2023. In addition, pre- and post-fire data collection occurred before and after these dates. See the most recent version of the contextual dataset “Eglin Air Force Base 2023: Contextual data for Wildland Fire Science Initiative (WFSI) Research Burn Campaign” for more information about the campaign (see Annotations section for hasMetadata link). fuelfuel loadcoarse woodlitterdufftreesaplingData Types and Measurement Variablesfield observationprescribed fireFloridasandhill longleaf pinepine woodlandNoneEglin Air Force Base 2023WFSI Research Burn Campaign This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, USA; G20, G25, and L25 units -86.75701-86.3665830.6145230.51316 2022-12-072023-03-20 https://datacite-metadata-schema.readthedocs.io/en/4.5/appendices/appendix-1/relationType/#hasMetadatahttps://doi.org/10.60594/W4QP4P AndrewHudakUSFS Rocky Mountain Research Stationandrew.hudak@usda.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7480-1458 Plot centers were established and GNSS locations were taken by USFS Southern Research Station personnel in burn units G20, G25 and L25 for the 2023 Eglin Air Force Base study fires. A 16-m line transect intersected the plot center. Duff and litter samples were taken at 0, 5, 11, and 16 m along the transect pre-fire. After the fire, samples were taken at 1, 6, 10, and 15 m along the transect. Duff was measured by inserting a soil sampler ~0.1 m into the soil, then extracting the core and searching for the transition from organic (if present) to mineral soil. Multiple diagnostic criteria for duff (organic horizon) were defined through consultation with an expert (Dr. Mac Callaham from USFS-SRS). We applied these criteria to define the boundary between duff and mineral soil. These criteria included dark color; absence or paucity of sand grains; and cohesion (e.g., due to fungal hyphae). Nuria Sanchez-Lopez and Seth Bigelow frequently cross-checked duff-mineral soil boundary delineations and trained field personnel until they could identify the boundary consistently. Transitions were often unclear and sometime included alternating layers of sand and duff. Litter depth was measured for soil surface to highest litter particle in contact with the ground at the point of measurement. Fuels were measured by tallying 100-hr fuels that intersected the 16-m transect. 1000-hour fuels were measured for diameter at the point where they intersected the transect. A total of 208 plots were established, with 75, 93, and 40 plots occurring in units G20, G25, and L25, respectively. After the study fires in March 2023, trees within 10 m of plot center were identified to functional group (pine, hardwood or species), measured for diameter at breast height with a diameter tape, measured for distance from outer bark to plot center, and measured for azimuth from plot center to tree. Some post-processing was done using lidar scans to distinguish between evergreeen and deciduous hardwoods. Saplings were tallied by ordinal quadrant (up to 5 m from plot center). Tree measurements were not taken in unit L25. In unit G20, plots HH01, HH02, HH03, HH04, HH05 were sampled pre-fire but not post fire. In unit G25, plots HH105, HH95, PP16 were sampled pre-fire but not post fire. The field protocol included in the data package (Eglin_2022_Tree_and_Transect_Field_Protocol.pdf) contains more methodological details. Andrew Hudak USDA FS RMRS andrew.hudak@usda.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7480-1458 Principal Investigator U. S. Department of Defense (DoD), Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100013316 RC20-1346 flmd.csv text/csv trees.csv text/csv saplings.csv text/csv Eglin_2022_Tree_and_Transect_Field_Protocol.pdf application/pdf litter_duff.csv text/csv data_dictionary.csv text/csv fuels_1000hr.csv text/csv fuels_100hr.csv text/csv CHANGES.md application/octet-stream