Does the Establishment of Sustainable Use Reserves Affect Fire Management in the Humid Tropics?
Tropical forests are experiencing a growing fire problem driven by climatic change, agricultural expansion and forest degradation. Protected areas are an important feature of forest protection strategies, and sustainable use reserves (SURs) may be reducing fire prevalence since they promote sustaina...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | Inglés |
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Public Library of Science
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/94052 |
| _version_ | 1855526747340013568 |
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| author | Carmenta, R. Blackburn, G.A. Davies, G. Sassi, Claudio de Lima, A. Parry, L. Tych, W. Barlow, J. |
| author_browse | Barlow, J. Blackburn, G.A. Carmenta, R. Davies, G. Lima, A. Parry, L. Sassi, Claudio de Tych, W. |
| author_facet | Carmenta, R. Blackburn, G.A. Davies, G. Sassi, Claudio de Lima, A. Parry, L. Tych, W. Barlow, J. |
| author_sort | Carmenta, R. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Tropical forests are experiencing a growing fire problem driven by climatic change, agricultural expansion and forest degradation. Protected areas are an important feature of forest protection strategies, and sustainable use reserves (SURs) may be reducing fire prevalence since they promote sustainable livelihoods and resource management. However, the use of fire in swidden agriculture, and other forms of land management, may be undermining the effectiveness of SURs in meeting their conservation and sustainable development goals. We analyse MODIS derived hot pixels, TRMM rainfall data, Terra-Class land cover data, socio-ecological data from the Brazilian agro-census and the spatial extent of rivers and roads to evaluate whether the designation of SURs reduces fire occurrence in the Brazilian Amazon. Specifically, we ask (1) a. Is SUR location (i.e., de facto) or (1) b. designation (i.e. de jure) the driving factor affecting performance in terms of the spatial density of fires?, and (2), Does SUR creation affect fire management (i.e., the timing of fires in relation to previous rainfall)? We demonstrate that pre-protection baselines are crucial for understanding reserve performance. We show that reserve creation had no discernible impact on fire density, and that fires were less prevalent in SURs due to their characteristics of sparser human settlement and remoteness, rather than their status de jure. In addition, the timing of fires in relation to rainfall, indicative of local fire management and adherence to environmental law, did not improve following SUR creation. These results challenge the notion that SURs promote environmentally sensitive fire-management, and suggest that SURs in Amazonia will require special attention if they are to curtail future accidental wildfires, particularly as plans to expand the road infrastructure throughout the region are realised. Greater investment to support improved fire management by farmers living in reserves, in addition to other fire users, will be necessary to help ameliorate these threats. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace94052 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science |
| publisherStr | Public Library of Science |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace940522025-06-17T08:23:44Z Does the Establishment of Sustainable Use Reserves Affect Fire Management in the Humid Tropics? Carmenta, R. Blackburn, G.A. Davies, G. Sassi, Claudio de Lima, A. Parry, L. Tych, W. Barlow, J. tropical forests humid tropics fire management fire prevention forest management Tropical forests are experiencing a growing fire problem driven by climatic change, agricultural expansion and forest degradation. Protected areas are an important feature of forest protection strategies, and sustainable use reserves (SURs) may be reducing fire prevalence since they promote sustainable livelihoods and resource management. However, the use of fire in swidden agriculture, and other forms of land management, may be undermining the effectiveness of SURs in meeting their conservation and sustainable development goals. We analyse MODIS derived hot pixels, TRMM rainfall data, Terra-Class land cover data, socio-ecological data from the Brazilian agro-census and the spatial extent of rivers and roads to evaluate whether the designation of SURs reduces fire occurrence in the Brazilian Amazon. Specifically, we ask (1) a. Is SUR location (i.e., de facto) or (1) b. designation (i.e. de jure) the driving factor affecting performance in terms of the spatial density of fires?, and (2), Does SUR creation affect fire management (i.e., the timing of fires in relation to previous rainfall)? We demonstrate that pre-protection baselines are crucial for understanding reserve performance. We show that reserve creation had no discernible impact on fire density, and that fires were less prevalent in SURs due to their characteristics of sparser human settlement and remoteness, rather than their status de jure. In addition, the timing of fires in relation to rainfall, indicative of local fire management and adherence to environmental law, did not improve following SUR creation. These results challenge the notion that SURs promote environmentally sensitive fire-management, and suggest that SURs in Amazonia will require special attention if they are to curtail future accidental wildfires, particularly as plans to expand the road infrastructure throughout the region are realised. Greater investment to support improved fire management by farmers living in reserves, in addition to other fire users, will be necessary to help ameliorate these threats. 2016 2018-07-03T10:56:52Z 2018-07-03T10:56:52Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/94052 en Open Access Public Library of Science Carmenta, R., Blackburn, G.A., Davies, G., de Sassi, C., Lima, A., Parry, L., Tych, W., Barlow, J.. 2016. Does the Establishment of Sustainable Use Reserves Affect Fire Management in the Humid Tropics? PLoS ONE, 11 (2) : e0149292. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0149292 |
| spellingShingle | tropical forests humid tropics fire management fire prevention forest management Carmenta, R. Blackburn, G.A. Davies, G. Sassi, Claudio de Lima, A. Parry, L. Tych, W. Barlow, J. Does the Establishment of Sustainable Use Reserves Affect Fire Management in the Humid Tropics? |
| title | Does the Establishment of Sustainable Use Reserves Affect Fire Management in the Humid Tropics? |
| title_full | Does the Establishment of Sustainable Use Reserves Affect Fire Management in the Humid Tropics? |
| title_fullStr | Does the Establishment of Sustainable Use Reserves Affect Fire Management in the Humid Tropics? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does the Establishment of Sustainable Use Reserves Affect Fire Management in the Humid Tropics? |
| title_short | Does the Establishment of Sustainable Use Reserves Affect Fire Management in the Humid Tropics? |
| title_sort | does the establishment of sustainable use reserves affect fire management in the humid tropics |
| topic | tropical forests humid tropics fire management fire prevention forest management |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/94052 |
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