Long-term Assessment of Fire Regime Across Different Forest Types
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55863/ijees.2025.0733Keywords:
Forest fire, Remote sensing, GIS, Fire regime, Fire frequencyAbstract
Worldwide, fire plays a crucial role in ecosystem patterns and processes. The fire regime varies across the biomes, and different ecosystems respond differently. Alteration in the fire regime affects the ecosystem negatively. In the absence of historical records, long-term fire studies are essential to understand the fire regime on a regional scale. Fires inside the wilderness area of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) occur as a result of anthropogenic artefacts. Twenty-five years of fire frequency study from satellite remote sensing revealed that fire is prominent in the dry deciduous and open grassy systems. However, active fire suppression policies in recent times have shown their effectiveness in controlling fire in forested areas. Remote sensing-based fire studies must be integrated with field-based quantification of fire regimes and various other effects to get more ecological insights.
References
Alencar, A.A., Brando, P.M., Asner, G.P. and Putz, F.E. 2015. Landscape fragmentation, severe drought, and the new Amazon forest fire regime. Ecological Applications, 25(6), 1493-1505. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-1528.1
Allen, K., Dupuy, J.M., Gei, M.G., Hulshof, C., Medvigy, D., Pizano, C., Salgado-Negret, B., Smith, C.M., Trierweiler, A., van Bloem, S.J., Waring, B.G., Xu, X. and Powers, J.S. 2017. Will seasonally dry tropical forests be sensitive or resistant to future changes in rainfall regimes? Environmental Research Letters, 12(2), 5968. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa5968
Andersen, A.N., Hertog, T. and Woinarski, J.C.Z. 2006. Long-term fire exclusion and ant community structure in an Australian tropical savanna: Congruence with vegetation succession. Journal of Biogeography, 33(5), 823-832. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2006.01463.x
Andersen, A.N., Woinarski, J.C.Z. and Parr, C.L. 2012. Savanna burning for biodiversity: Fire management for faunal conservation in Australian tropical savannas. Austral Ecology, 37(6), 658-667. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2011.02334.x
Bernardino, P.N., Dantas, V.L., Hirota, M., Pausas, J.G. and Oliveira, R.S. 2021. Savanna–forest coexistence across a fire gradient. Ecosystems, 25, 279-390. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-021-00654-4
Bond, W.J. 2019. Open Ecosystems: Ecology and Evolution Beyond the Forest Edge (1st ed.). Oxford University Press, UK. 178 pages. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198812456.001.0001
Bond, W.J., Cook, G.D. and Williams, R.J. 2012. Which trees dominate in savannas? The escape hypothesis and eucalypts in northern Australia. Austral Ecology, 37(6), 678-685. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2011.02343.x
Bond, W.J., Keeley, J.E., 2005. Fire as a global “herbivore”: The ecology and evolution of flammable ecosystems. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 20(7), 387-394. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2005.04.025
Bond, W.J., Woodward, F.I. and Midgley, G.F. 2005. The global distribution of ecosystems in a world without fire. New Phytologist, 165(2), 525-538. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2004.01252.x
Bowman, D.M.J.S., Balch, J.K., Artaxo, P., Bond, W.J., Carlson, J.M., Cochrane, M.A., Antonio, C.M.D., DeFries, R.S., Doyle, J.C., Harrison, S.P., Johnston, F.H., Keeley, J.E., Krawchuk, M.A., D’Antonio, C.M., Kull, C.A., Marston, J.B., Moritz, M.A., Prentice, I.C., Roos, C.I., Scott, A.C., Swetnam, T.W., van der Werf, G.R. and Pyne, S.J. 2009. Fire in the Earth System. Science, 324(5926), 481-484. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1163886
Bowman, D.M.J.S., Balch, J.K., Artaxo, P., Bond, W.J., Cochrane, M.A., D’Antonio, C.M., Defries, R., Johnston, F.H., Keeley, J.E., Krawchuk, M.A., Kull, C.A., Mack, M., Moritz, M.A., Pyne, S., Roos, C.I., Scott, A.C., Sodhi, N.S. and Swetnam, T.W. 2011. The human dimension of fire regimes on Earth. Journal of Biogeography, 38(12), 2223-2236. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02595.x
Bowman, D.M.J.S., Kolden, C.A., Abatzoglou, J.T., Johnston, F.H., van der Werf, G.R. and Flannigan, M. 2020. Vegetation fires in the Anthropocene. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1(10), 500-515. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0085-3
Certini, G. 2005. Effects of fire on properties of forest soils: a review. Oecologia 143, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1788-8
Champion, H.G. and Seth, S.K. 1968. A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India. Manager of Publications, New Delhi. 600 pages.
Cochrane, M.A. 2003. Fire science for rainforests. Nature 421, 913-919. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01437
Dattaraja, H.S., Pulla, S., Suresh, H.S., Nagaraja, M.S., Srinivasa Murthy, C.A., Sukumar, R., Murthy, C.A.S., Sukumar, R., Srinivasa Murthy, C.A. and Sukumar, R. 2017. Woody plant diversity in relation to environmental factors in a seasonally dry tropical forest landscape. Journal of Vegetation Science, 29(4), 704-714. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12652
He, T., Lamont, B.B. and Pausas, J.G. 2019. Fire as a key driver of Earth’s biodiversity. Biological Reviews, 94(6), 1983-2010. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12544
Hoffmann, W.A., Geiger, E.L., Gotsch, S.G., Rossatto, D.R., Silva, L.C.R.R., Lau, O.L., Haridasan, M. and Franco, A.C. 2012. Ecological thresholds at the savanna-forest boundary: How plant traits, resources and fire govern the distribution of tropical biomes. Ecology Letters, 15(7), 759-768. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01789.x
Keeley, J.E., Bond, W.J., Bradstock, R.A., Pausas, J.G., Rundel, P.W. 2011a. Fire in Mediterranean Ecosystems: Ecology, Evolution and Management. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 515 pages.
Keeley, J.E., Pausas, J.G., Rundel, P.W., Bond, W.J., Bradstock, R.A. 2011b. Fire as an evolutionary pressure shaping plant traits. Trends in Plant Science, 16, 406-411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2011.04.002
Keeley, J.E. and Pausas, J.G. 2019. Distinguishing disturbance from perturbations in fire-prone ecosystems. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 28(4), 282-287. https://doi.org/10.1071/WF18203
Kodandapani, N. 2013. Contrasting fire regimes in a seasonally dry tropical forest and a savanna ecosystem in the Western Ghats, India. Fire Ecology, 9(2), 102-115. https://doi.org/10.4996/fireecology.0902102
Kodandapani, N., Cochrane, M.A. and Sukumar, R. 2008. A comparative analysis of spatial, temporal, and ecological characteristics of forest fires in seasonally dry tropical ecosystems in the Western Ghats, India. Forest Ecology and Management, 256(4), 607-617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2008.05.006
McLauchlan, K.K., Higuera, P.E., Miesel, J., Rogers, B.M., Schweitzer, J., Shuman, J.K., Tepley, A.J., Varner, J.M., Veblen, T.T., Adalsteinsson, S.A., Balch, J.K., Baker, P.J., Batllori, E., Bigio, E., Brando, P., Cattau, M., Chipman, M.L., Coen, J., Crandall, R., Daniels, L., Enright, N., Gross, W.S., Harvey, B.J., Hatten, J.A., Hermann, S., Hewitt, R.E., Kobziar, L.N., Landesmann, J.B., Loranty, M.M., Maezumi, S.Y., Mearns, L., Moritz, M., Myers, J.A., Pausas, J.G., Pellegrini, A.F.A., Platt, W.J., Roozeboom, J., Saffort, H., Santos, F., Scheller, R.M., Sherriff, R.L., Smith, K.G., Smith, M.D. and Watts, A.C. 2020. Fire as a fundamental ecological process: Research advances and frontiers. Journal of Ecology, 108(5), 2047-2069. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13403
Nagendra, H. and Rocchini, D. 2008. High resolution satellite imagery for tropical biodiversity studies: The devil is in the detail. Biodiversity and Conservation, 17(14), 3431-3442. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9479-0
Oddi, F.J. 2018. Fire regime. pp. 1-12. In: Manzello, S.L. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires. Springer International Publishing, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51727-8_73-1
Palmquist, K.A., Peet, R.K. and Weakley, A.S. 2014. Changes in plant species richness following reduced fire frequency and drought in one of the most species-rich savannas in North America. Journal of Vegetation Science, 25(6), 1426-1437. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12186
Pausas, J.G. and Bond, W.J. 2020. On the three major recycling pathways in terrestrial ecosystems. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 35(9), 767-775. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2020.04.004
Pausas, J.G. and Keeley, J.E. 2009. A burning story: The role of fire in the history of life. BioScience, 59(7), 593-601. https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2009.59.7.10
Pausas, J.G. and Keeley, J.E. 2019. Wildfires as an ecosystem service. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 17(5), 289-295. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2044
Pausas, J.G., Keeley, J.E. and Schwilk, D.W. 2017. Flammability as an ecological and evolutionary driver. Journal of Ecology, 105(2), 289-297. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12691
Pausas, J.G. and Keeley, J.E., 2009. A burning story: The role of fire in the history of life. BioScience, 59(7), 593-601. https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2009.59.7.10
Ramo, R., Roteta, E., Bistinas, I., van Wees, D., Bastarrika, A., Chuvieco, E. and van der Werf, G.R. 2021. African burned area and fire carbon emissions are strongly impacted by small fires undetected by coarse resolution satellite data. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(9), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2011160118
Randerson, J.T., Chen, Y., van der Werf, G.R., Rogers, B.M. and Morton, D.C. 2012. Global burned area and biomass burning emissions from small fires. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 117(4), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JG002128
Ratnam, J., Chengappa, S.K., Machado, S.J., Nataraj, N., Osuri, A.M. and Sankaran, M. 2019. Functional traits of trees from dry deciduous “Forests” of southern India suggest seasonal drought and fire are important drivers. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00008
Ratnam, J., Tomlinson, K.W., Rasquinha, D.N. and Sankaran, M. 2016. Savannahs of Asia: Antiquity, biogeography, and an uncertain future. Philosophical Transactions of Royal Society B Biological Sciences, 371(1703), 20150305. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0305
Reddy, C.S., Jha, C.S., Diwakar, P.G. and Dadhwal, V.K. 2015. Nationwide classification of forest types of India using remote sensing and GIS. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 187(12), 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4990-8
Roques, K.G., O’Connor, T.G. and Watkinson, A.R. 2001. Dynamics of shrub encroachment in an African savanna: Relative influences of fire, herbivory, rainfall and density dependence. Journal of Applied Ecology, 38(2), 268-280. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2664.2001.00567.x
Sathya, M. 2017. Assessment of plant diversity in different forest types and impact of forest fire in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve using geomatics. Doctoral thesis, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, India.
Scott, A.C. 2018. Burning Planet: The Story of Fire Through Time. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 320 pages. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198734840.001.0001
Veldman, J.W. and Putz, F.E. 2011. Grass-dominated vegetation, not species-diverse natural savanna, replaces degraded tropical forests on the southern edge of the Amazon Basin. Biological Conservation, 144(5), 1419-1429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2011.01.011
Verma, S. and Jayakumar, S. 2015. Post-fire regeneration dynamics of tree species in a tropical dry deciduous forest, Western Ghats, India. Forest Ecology and Management, 341, 75-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.01.005
Williams, R.J., Cook, G.D., Gill, A.M. and Moore, P.H.R. 1999. Fire regime, fire intensity and tree survival in a tropical savanna in northern Australia. Austral Ecology, 24(1), 50-59. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1442-9993.1999.00946.x
Zupo, T., Gorgone-Barbosa, E., Ninno Rissi, M. and Daibes, L.F. 2022. Experimental burns in an open savanna: Greater fuel loads result in hotter fires. Austral Ecology, 47(5), 1101-1112. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13202
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Shovasish Karna, Shanmuganathan Jayakumar

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.