On the extent of fire-induced forest degradation in Mato Grosso, Brazilian Amazon, in 2000, 2005 and 2010

Abstract

Abstract. In this paper we analyse the extent of fire-induced forest degradation in Mato Grosso State, Brazil. We utilise a sample based approach used in a previous pan-tropical deforestation survey to derive information on land cover and burned areas in the two major biomes of Mato Grosso: Amazon and Cerrado. Land cover and burned area are mapped for three years (2000-2005-2010) over 77 sample sites (10 000 ha each) distributed systematically throughout the state which covers 90.337 Mha. Our results indicate continuing forest degradation by fires in the state and potentially increasing fire susceptibility of the Amazon forests, regardless of the decrease in deforestation. 2010 witnessed the most extensive fireinduced forest degradation (,300 000 ha) in the forests of the Amazon biome among the study years, regardless of the fact that the fire season was less severe than in 2005. Deforestation in the Amazon biome in Mato Grosso dropped from 590 000 ha year À1 in the 2000-2005 period to 190 000 ha year À1 in the second half of the decade. The findings of this study advocate the inclusion of forest fire effects into carbon accounting initiatives.

Contrasting Post-Fire Dynamics between Africa and South America based on MODIS Observations

“…The responses to fire of the current land cover and the trends of land cover changes in the tropics [3,5], especially for savanna-forest transitions, have been fully documented on a small scale [6,7] based on field investigations [8] or modelling [9]. However, the recovery dynamics of land cover changes related to fire remain highly uncertain, particularly at the continental scale [10,11]. Therefore, further investigations of how the vegetation dynamics change after fire are important to predict future land cover changes [12] as well as to estimate carbon emissions from tropical ecosystems [13].…”

“…In contrast, South America has the world's largest rainforest [18], which is among the most productive ecosystems on Earth [19]. Nevertheless, tropical forests have become increasingly vulnerable to high-severity fires [11]. Generally, C4 grasses are shade intolerant and fire tolerant, but forests in the tropics/subtropics contain shade-tolerant and fire-intolerant species [20,21].…”

“…Landsat-based maps of gross forest cover loss and MODIS burned area product have been used to explore the relationship between burned area and forest cover loss in Amazon [5]. Land cover from Landsat satellite imagery and burned area from MODIS active fire dataset were mapped for three years (2000-2005-2010) in South America, which were used to explore the extent of fire-induced forest degradation [11]. More than a decade of satellite data (MODIS 16-d gridded NDVI product) were used to model how the ecosystems in South Africa recovered following fire and how recovery rates varied with climate [28].…”

Three-year assessment of the space-time dynamics of burned forest in the Brazilian Amazon, State of Mato Grosso

“…The visible (1, 2, and, 3), near infrared (4) and short-wave infrared (5 and 7) bands of each Landsat scene were used. Image processing was carried out using IMPACT software (Simonetti et al, 2016), which performed the image layer-stacking, clipping and, generated the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and the soil, vegetation and shade fraction images, based on the linear spectral mixture model (Shimabukuro and Smith, 1991). From images acquired on May or June of each year (beginning of the burning season), forest cover maps were produced with the following land cover classes: intact forest, burned forest, forest regrowth and non-forest.…”