Elevated fires during COVID-19 lockdown and the vulnerability of protected areas

Eklund, Johanna; Jones, Julia P. G.; Räsänen, Matti; Geldmann, Jonas; Pellegrini, Adam F. A.; Rakotobe, Domoina; Rakotonarivo, O. Sarobidy; Toivonen, Tuuli

doi:10.1038/s41893-022-00884-x

Cited by 34 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…In addition, two major COVID-19 outbreaks were identified in June-July and October-November in 2020 (Supporting information), and lockdown policies usually persisted for dozens of days during major COVID-19 outbreaks. Owing to COVID-19 lockdown policies, people were unable to go outside to extinguish wildfires immediately after ignition (Eklund et al 2022), thereby indirectly promoting the spread of wildfires in high mountains to some extent.…”

Section: : E06527mentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate‐linked increasing vegetation fires in global high mountains

You

2022

Ecography

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The spatiotemporal variability of vegetation fires is essential for understanding changes in the climate and ecosystem in mountainous regions. MODIS Collection 6 active fire products indicate that the area burned by vegetation fires declined globally from over 4.27 million km2 to less than 3.52 million km2 annually during 2001–2021. In contrast, global high mountains higher than 3000 m have experienced an overall increase in their burned area and suffered record‐breaking wildfires from August to December 2020. Although high mountains accounted for less than 0.03% of the global burned area during 2001–2021, this proportion had more than tripled by 2020. This unprecedented wildfire record in 2020 could be mainly caused by favorable fire weather conditions such as low relative humidity, low soil water and high temperature.

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Section: : E06527mentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate‐linked increasing vegetation fires in global high mountains

You

2022

Ecography

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“…Numerosos focos de origen antrópico permanecieron activos durante semanas, lo que saturó la capacidad de respuesta de los sistemas de combate. En este contexto atípico marcado por la pandemia, implementar medidas sanitarias que restringían la circulación de las personas y actividades de manejo y control en territorio impactó en la ocurrencia de incendios a nivel global (Paudel 2021;Couto-García et al 2021;Poulter et al 2021;Eklund et al 2022).…”

Section: ₁₃₈ MC N�� F�� unclassified

“…En relación con las actividades humanas, en 2020, la pandemia marcó un contexto atípico en el que las medidas sanitarias de aislamiento y distanciamiento social influyeron en la ocurrencia de incendios a nivel global. En Madagascar, la suspensión de actividades de manejo y control en terreno favoreció una mayor ocurrencia de incendios en áreas naturales protegidas (Eklund et al 2022). Por su parte, en el Pantanal brasileño, la sequía extrema y la merma en las tareas de combate por una menor disponibilidad de combatientes resultaron en una temporada récord en cuanto a superficie quemada (Couto-García et al 2021).…”

Section: Incidencia De Fuego En áReas De Valor Socioeconómicounclassified

Megaincendios 2020 en Córdoba: Incidencia del fuego en áreas de valor ecológico y socioeconómico

et al. 2023

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R��.En el año 2020, las Sierras de Córdoba registraron la temporada de incendios más extrema de la memoria colectiva reciente, con daños ecológicos y socioeconómicos severos. En este trabajo se cartografiaron los incendios de 2020 utilizando imágenes Sentinel 2, se comparó la temporada con estadísticas históricas en función del número de incendios, la superficie quemada, la distribución del tamaño de los incendios y la frecuencia en relación con el período 1987-2019. También se analizó la incidencia del fuego en áreas de valor ecológico (áreas naturales protegidas [ANP], áreas prioritarias para la conservación [APC] y áreas de bosque nativo protegidas por la Ley de Bosques [Ley Nacional 26331/07]) y en áreas de valor socioeconómico (tierras destinadas a usos productivos y residenciales, considerando su valor fiscal). En 2020 se quemaron 291866 ha en las Sierras de Córdoba, constituyéndose en la segunda temporada de incendios con mayor superficie quemada en 34 años, con 5 megaincendios (≥10000 ha). Muchas áreas quemadas presentaron recurrencias de fuego entre 3 y 9 años en promedio, lo que las hace áreas hotspot de fuego en las sierras. Las llamas afectaron más del 5% del territorio declarado como ANP, 12% de las APC y 12% de los territorios protegidos por la Ley de Bosques. El fuego afectó principalmente parcelas rurales y, en menor medida, urbanas, con un valor fiscal de AR$8677 y 24592 millones, respectivamente. La sequía extrema y la disponibilidad de combustible determinaron la ocurrencia de los megaincendios, mientras que el contexto de pandemia -con restricciones a la circulación de personas-sugiere que los incendios no fueron originados por habitantes urbanos negligentes. Los daños ocasionados por los megaincendios y la posibilidad de escenarios similares a futuro demandan avanzar hacia un manejo integral de la problemática del fuego en la provincia de Córdoba.[Palabras clave: áreas naturales protegidas, bosque nativo, cuarentena, Gran Chaco Americano, grandes incendios, pandemia, riesgo de incendios] A��. Megafires of 2020 in Córdoba: Fire incidence in areas of ecological and socioeconomic value. In 2020, the Sierras of Córdoba suffered the most extreme fire season in recent collective memory, causing severe ecological and socioeconomic damage. In this study, we mapped the fires of 2020 using Sentinel 2 imagery, we compared the season with historical statistics from 1987-2019 in terms of number of fires, burned area, fire size distribution and fire frequency. Additionally, we analyzed fire incidence in areas of ecological value (protected natural areas [PNA], priority areas for biodiversity conservation [CPA] and native forests protected by Federal Law [#26331/07]) and in areas of socioeconomic value (productive and residential lands, considering their tax value). In 2020, nearly 291866 ha burned in the Sierras of Córdoba -becoming the fire season with the second largest burned area in 34 years-, with a record of 5 megafires (≥10000 ha). Many burned areas had fire return intervals from 3 to 9 yea...

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“…Similarly, coordinated, community-based fire management and awareness raising can be used to help mitigate risk to fire-sensitive forests. On-site management is especially important for fire mitigation, as a study during the COVID 19 pandemic has shown (121). Fire management also presents the opportunity to mitigate the impact of exotic species by targeting the removal of flammable invasives (e.g., Pinus), and guide appropriate tree-planting initiatives to avoid fireprone plantations near areas of particular biological importance.…”

Section: The Future Of Biodiversity In Madagascarmentioning

confidence: 99%

Madagascar’s extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use

Antonelli

Smith

Perrigo

et al. 2022

Science

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Madagascar’s biota is hyperdiverse and includes exceptional levels of endemicity. We review the current state of knowledge on Madagascar’s past and current terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity by compiling and presenting comprehensive data on species diversity, endemism, and rates of species description and human uses, in addition to presenting an updated and simplified map of vegetation types. We report a substantial increase of records and species new to science in recent years; however, the diversity and evolution of many groups remain practically unknown (e.g., fungi and most invertebrates). Digitization efforts are increasing the resolution of species richness patterns and we highlight the crucial role of field- and collections-based research for advancing biodiversity knowledge and identifying gaps in our understanding, particularly as species richness corresponds closely to collection effort. Phylogenetic diversity patterns mirror that of species richness and endemism in most of the analyzed groups. We highlight humid forests as centers of diversity and endemism because of their role as refugia and centers of recent and rapid radiations. However, the distinct endemism of other areas, such as the grassland-woodland mosaic of the Central Highlands and the spiny forest of the southwest, is also biologically important despite lower species richness. The documented uses of Malagasy biodiversity are manifold, with much potential for the uncovering of new useful traits for food, medicine, and climate mitigation. The data presented here showcase Madagascar as a unique “living laboratory” for our understanding of evolution and the complex interactions between people and nature. The gathering and analysis of biodiversity data must continue and accelerate if we are to fully understand and safeguard this unique subset of Earth’s biodiversity.

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Elevated fires during COVID-19 lockdown and the vulnerability of protected areas

Cited by 34 publications

References 51 publications

Climate‐linked increasing vegetation fires in global high mountains

Climate‐linked increasing vegetation fires in global high mountains

Megaincendios 2020 en Córdoba: Incidencia del fuego en áreas de valor ecológico y socioeconómico

Madagascar’s extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use

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