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Cited by 109Fire effects on ecosystemsRemote Sensing in AgricultureConservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management

‘Distribution patterns of burned areas in the Brazilian biomes: an analysis based on satellite data for the 2002–2010 period’

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Moreira de Araújo, Fernando, Ferreira, Laerte Guimarães, Arantes, Arielle Elias·2012·Remote Sensing
DOI 10.3390/rs4071929
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Abstract

Fires modify the structure of vegetation communities, the carbon and water cycles, the soil’s chemistry, and affect the climate system. Within this context, this work aimed to understand the distribution patterns of burned areas in Brazil, during the period of 2002 to 2010, taking into consideration each one of the six Brazilian biomes (Amazon, Caatinga, Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, Pampa and Pantanal) and the respective major land cover classes. Data from the MODIS MCD45A1 product (burned area), as well as thermal anomalies (MOD14 and MYD14) and precipitation (TRMM), were analyzed according to the 2002 Brazilian official land cover and land use map (PROBIO). The Brazilian savanna biome, known as Cerrado, presented the largest concentration of burned areas detected by MODIS (73%), followed by the Amazon (14%), Pantanal (6%), Atlantic Forest (4%), Caatinga (3%), and Pampa (0,06%) biomes. Indeed, in the years of 2007 and 2010, 90% and 92% of Brazil’s burned areas were concentrated in the Cerrado and Amazon biomes, respectively. TRMM data indicated that during these two years there was a significant influence of La Niña, causing low rainfall in the Amazon, Cerrado, Caatinga, and Atlantic Forest biomes. Regarding the land cover classes, approximately 81% of the burned areas occurred over remnant vegetation areas. Although no unequivocal correlation can be established between burned areas and new land conversions, the conspicuous concentration of fire scars, particularly in Amazon–Cerrado transition (i.e., the Arc of Deforestation) is certainly not a simple coincidence. Such patterns and trends corroborate the need of improved territorial governance, in addition to the implementation of systematic fire warning and preventive systems.

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  • Our results apply to municipalities within the so-called Arc of Deforestation, where approximately half of the world's tropical deforestation occurs and where fires have concentrated.

    “More specifically, our results apply to municipalities within the so-called Arc of Deforestation, where approximately half of the world's tropical deforestation occurs and where fires have concentrated (Araújo et al., 2012).”

    From The Effect of Rural Credit on Deforestation: Evidence from the Brazilian Amazon (2020) · cites this paper as Araújo et al., 2012

    The Results and Discussion and Concluding Remarks (page not provided) describe severe fire activity concentrated along the Amazon–Cerrado transition, known as the Arc of Deforestation. Our copy does not support the claim that approximately half of the world's tropical deforestation occurs there; searches for that figure and for global tropical deforestation found no such passage. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Cited by

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Authors
Moreira de Araújo, F., Ferreira, L. G., & Arantes, A. E.
Affiliations
  • Image Processing and GIS Lab/UFG–IESA, Federal University of Goiás, Campus Samambaia, Cx. Postal 131, Goiânia-GO, 74001-970, Brazil
  • Universidade Federal de Goiás (BR)
ORCID
Venue
Remote Sensing
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2012-06-29
Volume
4
Issue
7
Pages
1929-1946
ISSN
2072-4292 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/rs4071929
OpenAlex
W1998709941
Cited by
109
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 1
FWCI
3.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Remote Sensing (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNX08AI24G, NNX11AE56G)
  • European Space Agency
  • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Fire effects on ecosystems
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Remote Sensing in Agriculture
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
Keywords
forest fires, Brazilian biomes, Cerrado, Amazon, Arc of Deforestation, La Niña, precipitation, land cover, remnant vegetation, fire alarm systems, territorial governance, MODIS burned area

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