Fire Regimes and Their Drivers in the Upper Guinean Region of West Africa

Dwomoh, Francis K.; Wimberly, Michael C.

doi:10.3390/rs9111117

Cited by 29 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Our study showed different results for the N'Zi River Watershed, underlining an opposite trend for wildfire occurrence. Similar results have been found in West Africa, identifying decreasing trends in both number of wildfires and burnt areas during recent decades [58,59]. Andela et al [60] showed a significant decreasing trend in the number of fires, size of fires and burnt area in Africa in the period 2003-2015 using MODIS fire data.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

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Assessing the Impact of Climate Variability on Wildfires in the N’Zi River Watershed in Central Côte d’Ivoire

Kouassi

Wandan

Mbow

2018

Fire

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This study evaluates the impact of climate variability on wildfire regime in the N’Zi River Watershed (NRW) in central Côte d’Ivoire. For that purpose, MODIS active fire and monthly burned area data are used to evaluate wildfire occurrence, impacts and trends. Wildfire data are compared to past trends of different climatic parameters extracted from long-term meteorological records. Generalized additive models and Spearman correlations are used to evaluate the relationships between climate variables and wildfire occurrence. Seasonal Kendall and Sen’s slope methods were used for trend analysis. Results showed that from 2001 to 2016, 19,156 wildfire occurrences are recorded in the NRW, of which 4443 wildfire events are observed in forest, 9536 in pre-forest, and 5177 in Sudanian zones. The burned areas are evaluated at 71,979.7 km2, of which 10,488.41 km2 were registered in forest, 33,211.96 km2 in pre-forest, and 28,279.33 km2 in Sudanian zones. A downward trend is observed in fire records. The results indicates a strong correlation between some climatic variables and wildfire regime in this ecoregion. These correlations can be used to develop models that could be used as prediction tools for better management of fire regimes and support decision-making in the NRW.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

“…The inclusion of different environmental and biophysical covariates might improve the GAM results. For instance, fire activity is most strongly influenced by climate, topography [76], vegetation type and population density [59]. It is therefore important to collect data on potentially influential covariates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Impact of Climate Variability on Wildfires in the N’Zi River Watershed in Central Côte d’Ivoire

Kouassi

Wandan

Mbow

2018

Fire

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“…Among the African savannas, the most extreme fire conditions (annual burning, high rainfall) occur in the Guinean forest −savanna mosaic ecoregion, extending over 670 000 km 2 in West Africa (Kier et al 2005). In this area, fire return interval is generally between 1 and 3 years, with 21% of this area burned annually (Innes 1972, Dwomoh andWimberly 2017). Annual rainfall is in the range of 1000 −1600 mm yr -1 (L'Hôte and Mahé 2012), yielding very high grass production .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Season affects fire behavior in annually burned humid savanna of West Africa

et al. 2018

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Background: Fire is important for the maintenance of African savanna ecosystems, particularly humid savanna. Despite the importance of fire behavior to our understanding of fire's ecological effects, few studies have documented fire behavior and its determinants in humid West African savannas and, in particular, whether fire behavior depends on season of the year. We analyzed fire behavior in the Guinean savanna of Lamto (Ivory Coast) during a 4-year field experiment. The fire regimes tested consisted of three different burning seasons: early-season fire, mid-season fire, and late-season fire. Nine 0.5 ha plots were burned annually to determine the rate of spread and fire intensity. Fuel characteristics and weather conditions were measured to assess their impact on fire behavior. Results: Understory grass height, total fresh fuel load, and moisture content had greater values in early-season fire than in mid-season and late-season fire. The rate of spread and intensity of both mid-season fire (0.14 ± 0.03 m s −1 and 3920 ± 740 kW m −1 , respectively) and of late-season fire (0.12 ± 0.02 m s −1 and 3134 ± 482 kW m −1 , respectively) were significantly greater than those of early-season fire (0.04 ± 0.01 m s −1 and 1416 ± 252 kW m −1 , respectively). The best predictors of fire behavior were fuel moisture content and air humidity; these two explanatory variables were the sole significant predictors for fire intensity, rate of fire spread, and flame height. Conclusions: Given that there is no difference between intensity of mid-season and late-season fire, we suggest that the generally reported higher impact of late-season fire on trees in the West African humid savannas is due not to fire intensity per se, but rather to a more sensitive phenological stage of trees (e.g., leafless in mid-season), and to a longer time of exposure to lethal temperatures (> 60°C) in the late dry season. These data provide important insights into fire behavior in the Guinean savanna−forest mosaic ecoregion, informing fire management.

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“…Traditional fire use is perceived as an integral practice in most rural savannas around the world that needs attention. Several studies have shown fire effects on the environment (Dwomoh and Wimberly 2017;Nyongesa and Vacik 2018). Author observation of twenty-five years living in the savanna region of Ghana, shows the widespread use of fire in this ecological zone.…”

Section: Background and Setting Of The Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fire-prone West African savannas, the use of fire is integral in socio-cultural practices that are important for rural livelihoods and socio-economic activities (Rose Innes 1972;Archibald and Bond 2003;Dwomoh and Wimberly 2017). Nonetheless, the savannas provide the land resources where the bulk of cereals, grains and livestock are produced, usually by means of traditional methods of agriculture where fire is used to clear the land of vegetation for cropping, to burn stubble after harvest, as well as for weed management (Amissah, Kyereh and Agyeman 2010;Nyongesa and Vacik 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Traditional practices, knowledge and perceptions of fire use in a West African savanna parkland

Amoako

Gambiza

2020

Preprint

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Understanding people’s fire practices, knowledge and perceptions of the use of fire and fire regimes can inform fire management plans that could contribute to sustainable savanna conservation and management. We investigated the frequency of fire use, control and perceptions of fire regime for selected livelihood and socio-cultural activities in six districts in the Guinea savanna of Ghana. The majority of respondents (83%) across the study districts indicated that they used fire once a year for at least one of the following activities: land preparation, weed/grass/pest control, burning stubble after harvest, bush clearing around homesteads, firebreaks, charcoal burning and hunting. The study showed a higher frequency of fire use in the dry season for land preparation for cropping. Less than a fifth of the respondents (17%) indicated that they do not use fire for any of the above activities. The majority of respondents (62%) across the districts mentioned that they controlled their use of fire to prevent destruction to property, with the remaining 3% who indicated the prevention of killing or injuring humans. The study showed a higher frequency of fire use for land preparation for cropping than for the other socio-cultural activities. However, respondents rated season of burning as the most important attribute, with little attention to the other attributes of a fire regime, contrary to what is theoretically recognized. Understanding traditional fire use practices in terms how to regulate the mix of frequency, intensity/severity, season, size and type of fire for these and other socio-cultural purposes could enhance sustainable savanna conservation and management. There is a need to unravel the specifics of fire assisted socio-cultural practices and fire regimes in West Africa.

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Fire Regimes and Their Drivers in the Upper Guinean Region of West Africa

Cited by 29 publications

References 42 publications

Assessing the Impact of Climate Variability on Wildfires in the N’Zi River Watershed in Central Côte d’Ivoire

Assessing the Impact of Climate Variability on Wildfires in the N’Zi River Watershed in Central Côte d’Ivoire

Season affects fire behavior in annually burned humid savanna of West Africa

Traditional practices, knowledge and perceptions of fire use in a West African savanna parkland

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