The DOI matches its Crossref record; 26 of the 26 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A LiDAR-based analysis of the effects of slope, vegetation density, and ground surface roughness on travel rates for wildland firefighter escape route mapping
Abstract
Escape routes are essential components of wildland firefighter safety, providing pre-defined pathways to a safety zone. Among the many factors that affect travel rates along an escape route, landscape conditions such as slope, low-lying vegetation density, and ground surface roughness are particularly influential, and can be measured using airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. In order to develop a robust, quantitative understanding of the effects of these landscape conditions on travel rates, we performed an experiment wherein study participants were timed while walking along a series of transects within a study area dominated by grasses, sagebrush and juniper. We compared resultant travel rates to LiDAR-derived estimates of slope, vegetation density and ground surface roughness using linear mixed effects modelling to quantify the relationships between these landscape conditions and travel rates. The best-fit model revealed significant negative relationships between travel rates and each of the three landscape conditions, suggesting that, in order of decreasing magnitude, as density, slope and roughness increase, travel rates decrease. Model coefficients were used to map travel impedance within the study area using LiDAR data, which enabled mapping the most efficient routes from fire crew locations to safety zones and provided an estimate of travel time.
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The presence, abundance, structure, and distribution of vegetation have major limiting effects on the ease with which one can move through a landscape.
“The presence, abundance, structure, and distribution of vegetation also have major limiting effects on the ease with which one can move through a landscape20–22.”
From A singular, broadly-applicable model for estimating on- and off-path walking travel rates using airborne lidar data (2024) · cites this paper as [21]
Shorter vegetation at or near the ground surface can affect foot placement and alter gait.
“Shorter vegetation at or near the ground surface (i.e., grasses, forbs, shrubs) can affect foot placement and alter gait.”
From A singular, broadly-applicable model for estimating on- and off-path walking travel rates using airborne lidar data (2024) · cites this paper as [21]
Taller shrubs and trees can impact movement in ways ranging from avoidance to impedance.
“Taller shrubs and trees can impact movement in a variety of ways, ranging from avoidance (i.e., moving around obstacles deemed impassible) to impedance (i.e., moving through passible vegetation but being physically restrained by it).”
From A singular, broadly-applicable model for estimating on- and off-path walking travel rates using airborne lidar data (2024) · cites this paper as [21]
Campbell, Dennison, and Butler conducted a study using lidar data to explore the effects of ground roughness and vegetation density on firefighter evacuation speeds, but did not consider hill slope separately.
“Campbell, Dennison, and Butler [15] conducted a study using lidar data to explore the effects of ground roughness and vegetation density on firefighter evacuation speeds, but they did not consider the hill slope separately.”
From Improved prediction of hiking speeds using a data driven approach (2023) · cites this paper as [15]
Improving our understanding of how firefighters traverse various landscapes is essential for the assessment of relative egress capacity, estimation of medical evacuation time, mapping of least-cost escape routes, and knowledge of when to trigger an evacuation.
“Improving our understanding of how firefighters traverse various landscapes is essential for the assessment of relative egress capacity [24], estimation of medical evacuation time [44], mapping of least-cost escape routes [34], and knowledge of when to trigger an evacuation [26].”
From Modeling wildland firefighter travel rates by terrain slope: results from GPS-tracking of type 1 crew movement (2020) · cites this paper as [34]
Campbell et al. used airborne lidar remote sensing to derive continuous measures of slope, vegetation density, and ground surface roughness as the basis of travel impedance analysis.
“Campbell et al. [8] used airborne lidar remote sensing to derive continuous measures of slope, vegetation density, and ground surface roughness as the basis of travel impedance analysis.”
From Escape Route Index: A Spatially-Explicit Measure of Wildland Firefighter Egress Capacity (2019) · cites this paper as Campbell et al. [8]
The most important external factors that affect one's ability to efficiently move through a given landscape include terrain slope, ground surface condition, and the presence, abundance, and arrangement of vegetation.
“The most important external factors that affect one's ability to efficiently move through a given landscape include terrain slope, ground surface condition (e.g., roughness, firmness, and stability), and the presence, abundance, and arrangement of vegetation [8].”
From Escape Route Index: A Spatially-Explicit Measure of Wildland Firefighter Egress Capacity (2019) · cites this paper as [8]
Understory vegetation density is thought to be a much better predictor of travel conductance.
“which is thought to be a much better predictor of travel conductance [8,34].”
From Escape Route Index: A Spatially-Explicit Measure of Wildland Firefighter Egress Capacity (2019) · cites this paper as [8]
ERI demonstrates a strong influence from land cover, much greater than slope, and the WFDSS-based land cover effects are very dominant.
“In its current formulation, based on its current input parameters and datasets, ERI clearly demonstrates a strong influence from land cover-a much greater influence than that of slope.”
From Escape Route Index: A Spatially-Explicit Measure of Wildland Firefighter Egress Capacity (2019) · cites this paper as [8]
Roads and trails tend to promote maximally efficient travel, where available.
“However, given their relative low slope, ground surface stability, and lack of vegetation impedance, roads and trails tend to promote maximally efficient travel, where available [8,10,16,17].”
From Escape Route Index: A Spatially-Explicit Measure of Wildland Firefighter Egress Capacity (2019) · cites this paper as [8]
GET v1 has not been updated or modified since its initial creation to account for changing landscape conditions and advancements in understanding of how landscape characteristics affect pedestrian movement.
“Despite its wide use, GET v1 has not been updated or modified since its initial creation to account for changing landscape conditions (e.g., hospital locations, road networks, and land cover) and advancements in our understanding of how landscape characteristics affect pedestrian movement [33,36,37].”
From Wildland firefighter estimated ground evacuation time modeling to support risk-informed decision-making (2024) · cites this paper as [33]
The specific quantitative relationship between vegetation structure and travel rates has been explored only sparingly in the scientific literature.
“The specific quantitative relationship between vegetation structure and travel rates has been explored only sparingly in the scientific literature [33,34,37,41].”
From Wildland firefighter estimated ground evacuation time modeling to support risk-informed decision-making (2024) · cites this paper as [33]
Land cover characteristics influence pedestrian travel; for example, traversing dense, tall vegetation is slower than traversing sparse or no vegetation.
“Land cover characteristics also influence pedestrian travel.For example, traversing dense, tall vegetation is slower than traversing sparse or no vegetation.”
From Wildland firefighter estimated ground evacuation time modeling to support risk-informed decision-making (2024) · cites this paper as [33]
Vegetation density within the height range of the human body has a direct impeding effect on travel rates.
“We know from experience and limited scientific evidence that vegetation density within the height range of the human body has a direct impeding effect on travel rates [33].”
From Wildland firefighter estimated ground evacuation time modeling to support risk-informed decision-making (2024) · cites this paper as [33]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Campbell, M. J., Dennison, P. E., & Butler, B. W.
- Affiliations
- University of Utah (US)
- ADepartment of Geography, University of Utah, 332 S 1400 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
- BRocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 5775 US Highway 10 W, Missoula, MT 59808, USA.
- Corresponding author
- Campbell, Michael J.
- Venue
- International Journal of Wildland Fire
- Publisher
- CSIRO Publishing
- Published
- 2017-09-27
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 884-895
- ISSN
- 1049-8001 (ISSN-L)
- 1448-5516
- OpenAlex
- W2757151358
- Cited by
- 42
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 4.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Wildland Fire (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Geological Survey
- U.S. Forest Service
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Forestry › Remote Sensing and LiDAR Applications
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Evacuation and Crowd Dynamics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Occupational Health and Performance
- Keywords
- travel rate, slope, vegetation density, ground roughness, LiDAR, firefighter safety, travel time estimation, sagebrush, juniper, grassland
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