Fire regime in Goiás - Brazil and Mozambique between 2010 and 2019: frequency, recurrence, and most affected cover classes

Abstract

Over the last few years, the world has experienced extreme events related to the occurrence of fire, which has caused a great deal of damage to people and ecosystems. In 2020 fires raged in Australia, Brazil, the United States, and other nations. Thus, the forest fire issue becomes a matter of global relevance and urgency and requires a better understanding and monitoring of these events. This study sought to identify similarities and differences between the fire regime, specifically the frequency and recurrence, in Mozambique and the state of Goiás, Brazil, between 2010 and 2019. Both focuses are located in the same bioclimatic zone, where savannas are present. Savannas, considered the most fire-resilient ecosystems, are not immune to the consequences of intense and frequent fires. Therefore, monitoring such events in these ecosystems is important, especially to identify characteristics that can guide decisionmaking. The methodological steps for developing this study involved database organization and using cloud-based geospatial processing platforms, which resulted in fire event characterization products. In both of the studied focuses, fire occurs annually in significant extensions, especially in Mozambique, where the burnt area percentage is higher than in Goiás. Such dynamics may be related to each region’s specificities. These results allow for a better understanding of how fires and burning occur in different savannas. and may motivate further research aimed at further clarification.