Background
In Uttarakhand, a state in northern India, forest fire events increased from 922 in 2002 to 41,600 in 2019, influencing forest structure and function. In the literature, it has been reported that, globally, climate change influences the intensity and expansion of forest fire events. However, with regard to Uttarakhand, studies on the relationship between climate and forest fire events were very limited. In this study, a brief review of Uttarakahand state forests, forest fire types, forest biomass carbon stock, and factors influencing forest fires was carried out, followed by assessment of the relationships between forest fires and climate attributes.
Results
This study indicated that there was a positive and significant correlation between the number of forest fires and temperature (maximum, average, and diurnal range; 0.05 ≥ P ≤ 0.001); whereas, there was a negative and non-significant correlation of forest fire with relative humidity, and a non-significant correlation of forest fire with minimum temperature and wind. The Ångstrom index and Fuel Moisture Index were found to be good indices to indicate the prevalence of favorable climatic conditions for forest fire. The results of the study indicated a vulnerability of forest floor biomass carbon to forest fire.
Conclusion
Temperature was a regulating factor in altering the forest fire potential in the district. Forest fire caused the loss of carbon sequestered in forest biomass carbon stock. In the future, due to climate change, a greater number of forest fire events may occur and disturb the carbon cycle.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.