Analysis of Bushfires Spatial and Temporal Variability in Guinea

Abstract

Guinea is confronted to the increasing risks of bushfires that destroy thousands of hectares of vegetation cover every year. Very little research is devoted to the variability of those fires, which makes it a serious threat to both wildlife and human habitats. The current study investigates the spatial and temporal distribution of bushfires in the period from 2003 to 2016. The method used is the geospatial technology: we first filter pixels corresponding with active light supplied by MODIS images (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and estimate their densities following the square meshing procedure. Burned areas are deducted from the estimated pixel densities by calculations. The results highlight great occurrence of fires: 4 to 48 pixels of active fire per year and per 100 km² depending on the location; 2 to 5 million hectares per year of burned areas (20,000 to 50,000 sqkm). Almost 8 to 24% the size of the whole country. The prefectures of Beyla, Siguiri, Kouroussa, Kankan, Dinguiraye, Mali and Tougué are the most exposed areas. Every year, fire activities are observed as from October and between May and June. They are however mitigated according to the regions (or the geographical domains). Summits of bushfires activities are generally reached between December and January.

Variability and predictability of bush fire in Guinea on inter-annual and multi-year timescales based on NDVI-MODIS datasets analysis

“…Figure 4 shows the distribution of the risk level of bush fires for the year 2007. Both indices agree well on the high level of risk in the northern zone in agreement with the previous studies (Millimono, 2009(Millimono, , 2017Barry et al, 2015) highlighting the drastic consequences of bush fires in North part of Guinea. Whereas, in the southern zone, the risk is not clearly represented within the RGRE, while with the dSG, one can estimate it throughout the area.…”

“…Many studies have been recently conducted on bush fires in West Africa (Mbow, 2000;Millimono, 2009;Valea, 2010;Sow, 2012;Millimono et al, 2017) and results from these studies provide important information on fire regimes and environmental consequences. For instance in Guinea, like other savanna countries under the recurring threat of bush fires, a fire management policy organizing awareness campaigns on their harmful effects through rural radios has been implemented since 2009.…”

Bushfires spread modelling over Malea in Northeastern Guinea

“…These are concerns for many researchers, in the fields of climatology, risk prevention and forest management (Breton et al, 2008;Thonat, 2013). Previous study in the field of fire observation has already greatly contributed to the understanding of their spatio-temporal distribution and their recurrence in the North-east of Guinea, more specifically in the county of Siguiri (Millimono et al, 2017), to the estimation of burned areas and their predictability (Barry et al, 2015;2018).…”