LANDFIRE’s (LF) 2023 Vegetation Condition Class (VCC) is a reclassification and categorization of the LF 2023 Vegetation Departure (VDep) product. VCC indicates the general level to which current vegetation is different from the simulated historical reference condition. Therefore, VCC is a derivative of VDep; the VDep product indicates how different current vegetation is compared to the estimated historical reference condition, and is based on change to species composition, structure, and canopy closure.
Condition classes for VCC are defined in two ways; the original 3 category system from Fire Regime Condition Class Guidebook (FRCC Guidebook), and a newer 6 category system that provides additional thematic detail. For the original 3-category system, the VDep value is reclassified as: Condition Class I: VDep value from 0 to 33 (Low Departure), Class II: VDep value between 34 - 66 (Moderate Departure), and Condition Class III: VDep value from 67 to 100 (High Departure). The 6-category system provides more detail and is collapsible to the 3-category system. The 6 VCC categories are defined as: Condition Class I.A: VDep between 0 and 16 (Very Low Departure), Condition Class I.B: VDep between 17 and 33 (Low to Moderate Departure); Condition Class II.A: VDep between 34 and 50 (Moderate to Low Departure); Condition Class II.B: VDep between 51 and 66 (Moderate to High Departure); Condition Class III.A: VDep between 67 and 83 (High to Moderate Departure), and Condition Class III.B: VDep between 84 and 100 (High Departure).