Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Wildfire Regimes in Miombo of the LevasFlor Forest Concession, Central Mozambique
2024 (English)In: Fire, E-ISSN 2571-6255, Vol. 7, no 8, article id 264Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Wildfires are an intrinsic and vital driving factor in the Miombo ecosystem. Understanding fire regimes in Miombo is crucial for its ecological sustainability. Miombo is dominant in Central Mozambique, having one of the highest fire incidences in the country. This study evaluated the spatio-temporal patterns of fire regimes (intensity, seasonality, frequency and fire return interval) in the LevasFlor Forest Concession (LFC), Central Mozambique using remotely sensed data from 2001 to 2022. We conducted hotspot spatial statistics using the Getis-Ord Gi* method to assess fire distribution and patterns. The results revealed that 88% of the study area was burnt at least once from 2001 to 2022, with an average burned area of 9733 ha/year (21% of LFC’s total area). Fires were more likely to occur (74.4%) in open and deciduous Miombo types. A total of 84% of the studied area, burned in a range of 4 to 22 years of fire return interval (FRI) over the 21 assessed. Only 16% of the area was affected by high to very high FRI (1 to 4 years), with an average FRI of 4.43 years. Generally, fires are more frequent and intense in September and October. These results highlight the usefulness of remote sensing in evaluating long-term spatiotemporal fire trends for effective fire management strategies and control measures in African savanna ecosystems.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) , 2024. Vol. 7, no 8, article id 264
Keywords [en]
active fire, burned area, fire frequency, fire hotspot, fire intensity, fire return interval, fire seasonality, spatio-temporal analysis
National Category
Other Earth Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-353466DOI: 10.3390/fire7080264ISI: 001305007400001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85202595857OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-353466DiVA, id: diva2:1899141
Note
QC 20240926
2024-09-192024-09-192025-02-25Bibliographically approved