Keetch-Byram Drought Index
The Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) is a cumulative drought severity index used in fire danger rating systems to track long-term soil moisture depletion and drying trends. Developed in 1968 by Keetch and Byram, KBDI integrates daily temperature, precipitation, and prior drought state to produce a continuous index ranging from 0 (no drought, moist soil) to 800 (severe drought, very dry soil). KBDI is widely used in fire danger prediction and fire behavior modeling because soil moisture is a major driver of fuel drying and flammability.
Source record
Citations copied verbatim from the method’s source record. No claim-level verification is inferred from them.
- Keetch, J. J., & Byram, G. M. (1968). A drought index for forest fire control. Research Paper SE-38, USDA Forest Service Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. · URL
- Burgan, R. E. (1988). 1988 revisions to the 1978 National Fire-Danger Rating System. Research Paper SE-273. · URL
Curated claims
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Related methods
Generated from the method graph and shown as machine-suggested relations — no evidence claim is inferred.