Spatial analysis of fire sevetiry and its relationship with landscape configuration in savanna areas of Sempre Vivas National Park, Brazil

Abstract

Fire is a natural disturbance in the Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) but its effects on the landscape are capable of altering its pattern of severity and frequency. Because of that, some areas of the Biome can be in dangerous in the National Park of Sempre Vivas, in Minas Gerais State. Within this context, we spatially analyzed fires in areas of Cerrado during the years 2003 and 2017 according to severity, frequency and the influence of the spatial configuration of the area. We used pre- and post-fire Landsat satellite images to calculate the dNBR index to analyze fire severity per year and used fire metrics to analyze the relationship between fire severity and the spatial configuration of the landscape. Fire-scar severity was considered low, probably due to the density and structure of the typical Cerrado vegetation and the change in annual precipitation. Thus, fires in the Cerrado can be intense and spread quickly if no proper control is implemented.