Characterizing Vegetation Fire Dynamics in Brazil through Multisatellite Data: Common Trends and Practical Issues

Abstract

Abstract Correctly characterizing the frequency and distribution of fire occurrence is essential for understanding the environmental impacts of biomass burning. Satellite fire detection is analyzed from two sensors—the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on NOAA-12 and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on both the Terra and Aqua platforms, for 2001–03—to characterize fire activity in Brazil, giving special emphasis to the Amazon region. In evaluating the daily fire counts, their dependence on variations in satellite viewing geometry, overpass time, atmospheric conditions, and fire characteristics were considered. Fire counts were assessed for major biomes of Brazil, the nine states of the Legal Amazon, and two important road corridors in the Amazon region. All three datasets provide consistent information on the timing of peak fire activity for a given state. Also, ranking by relative fire counts per unit area highlights the importance of fire in smaller biomes such as Complexo do Pantanal. The local analysis of road corridors shows trends for fire detections with the increasing intensity of land use. Although absolute fire counts differ by as much as 1200%, when summarized over space and time, trends in fire counts among the three datasets show clear patterns of fire dynamics. The fire dynamics that are evident in these trend analyses are important foundations for assessing environmental impacts of biomass burning and policy measures to manage fire in Brazil.