Drivers of Fire Anomalies in the Brazilian Amazon: Lessons Learned from the 2019 Fire Crisis
| Published in | Land |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marcus V. F. Silveira,Caio A. Petri, Igor S. Broggio,Gabriel O. Chagas, Mateus S. Macul, Cândida C. S. S. Leite, Edson M. M. Ferrari, Carolina G. V. Amim, Ana L. R. Freitas ,Alline Z. V. Motta 4, Luiza M. E. Carvalho, Celso H. L. Silva Junior, Liana O. Anderson and Luiz E. O. C. Aragão |
| Publication year | 2020 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.3390/land9120516 |
| Affiliations |
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Earth Observation and Geoinformatics Division, National Institute for Space Research, São José dos Campos 12227-010, Brazil
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Laboratory of Environmental Sciences, Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro (UENF), Campos dos Goytacazes 28013-600, Brazil
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Institute of Science and Technology, São Paulo State University (UNESP)/National Centre for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters (CEMADEN), São José dos Campos 12247-004, Brazil
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Department of Forestry, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri (UFVJM), Diamantina 39100-000, Brazil
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National Centre for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters (CEMADEN), São Jose dos Campos 12227-010, Brazil
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College of Life and Environmental Sciences Amory Building, University of Exeter, Rennes Drive, Exeter EX4 4RJ, UK
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
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These authors contributed equally to this work.
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| IAI Program | SGP-HW |
| IAI Project | SGP-HW016 |
| Keywords | |
Abstract
The 2019 fire crisis in Amazonia dominated global news and triggered fundamental questions about the possible causes behind it. Here we performed an in-depth investigation of the drivers of active fire anomalies in the Brazilian Amazon biome. We assessed a 2003&ndash2019 time-series of active fires, deforestation, and water deficit and evaluated potential drivers of active fire occurrence in 2019, at the biome-scale, state level, and local level. Our results revealed abnormally high monthly fire counts in 2019 for the states of Acre, Amazonas, and Roraima. These states also differed from others by exhibiting in this year extreme levels of deforestation. Areas in 2019 with active fire occurrence significantly greater than the average across the biome had, on average, three times more active fires in the three previous years, six times more deforestation in 2019, and five times more deforestation in the five previous years. Approximately one-third of yearly active fires from 2003 to 2019 occurred up to 1 km from deforested areas in the same year, and one-third of deforested areas in a given year were located up to 500 m from deforested areas in the previous year. These findings provide critical information to support strategic decisions for fire prevention policies and fire combat actions.