Fire Suppression and the Wildfire Paradox in Contemporary China: Policies, Resilience, and Effects in Chinese Fire Regimes

Accelerating decline of wildfires in China in the 21st century

“…The forest types in SR and SWR are mainly evergreen broadleaf forests, where wildfire intensity is usually low. Forests in NER are part of the Eurasian boreal forest biome, and forest types are predominantly temperate coniferous, broadleaf, and mixed forests, including larch, pine, spruce, and related boreal forest species (Hayes, 2020), and are therefore prone to high-intensity forest wildfires. Spatially, wildfires in China were mainly distributed in (1) the junction of the Xinganling Mountains, i.e., the western and northern parts of Heilongjiang Province; (2) the Hengduan Mountains, roughly located in the northwestern part of Yunnan and the southwestern part of Sichuan; (3) the southeastern hills, especially in Guangdong Province, the eastern part of Guangxi Province and the southern part of Hunan; and (4) the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, mainly located in the southern part of Yunnan.…”

“…It is easy to see that wildfires in NER occur mainly in the spring and autumn, especially in May and October. NER has a moderately cold temperate monsoon climate with long, cold winters and dry spring and autumn seasons, combined with extensive boreal forests and deciduous broadleaf forests (Hayes, 2020), which facilitate the development of wildfires, resulting in a high incidence of wildfires in NER in spring and autumn. Our results are consistent with previous studies (Qin et al, 2014;Chen et al, 2017;Fang et al, 2021).…”

“…However, wildfires in China have shown a significant downward trend in the 21st century. Undoubtedly, this downward trend is related to the development and implementation of fire prevention and suppression policies in China (Hayes, 2020). Since the 1987 wildfires, China's forest fire prevention work has been characterized by a highpressure situation.…”