27 August 1999

Extensive burning of vegetation on Brazilian territory and neighbouring countries has been monitored. The latest NOAA 12 satellite derived fire products shown below.

Fig.1. INPE-DSA Fire products of 26 August 1999 (NOAA 12)
(Source: INPE-DSA)

Fig. 2. GOES-8 ABBA Preliminary Detected Fire Locations from 25 August 1999
(Source: UW-Madison CIMSS GOES Biomass Burning Monitoring Program)

Significant fire events were identified by NESDIS/OSEI with the NOAA-14 POES AVHRR LAC satellite on 26 August 1999 in Brazil.

Fig.3. The image shows heat signatures and a large amount of dense smoke from many areas of fire burning in central and southeastern South America on 26 August 1999.
(Source: http://www.osei.noaa.gov/).

A large fire in Brazil has developed on 24 August 1999 NE of th town of Bataguaçu (52°30’W,21°41’S). The fire is burning N of the Rio Pardo river which originates in the Cerrado region W of the Rio Paraná. The fire is a typical large Cerrado savanna fire which occurs in short-return intervals (1-5 years) in a vegetation type which is characterized by fire-adapted species.

24 August 24 August 25 August

Fig.4., 5. and 6. The left and center satellite imageries show the situation of 24 August. The right imagery shows the development of yesterday with a slightly decreased intensity and clouds approaching the region.

Fig. 7. The photograph shows a typical fire-affected Cerrado stand in Brazil. The tree and shrub layers recover rapidly after fire. Fire scars can be seen at the bottom of trees and shrubs. Photo: GFMC archive

The fire activities on the territories of Paraguay and Bolivia, predominantly burning in Chaco-type vegetation (see report on Argentina of 9 August 1999) are partially obscured by clouds and smoke but have been decreasing during the last 48 hours.

New Publication “Flames in the Rain Forest”

A new book publication is available now:

D.C.Nepstad, A.G.Moreira, and A.A.Alencar. 1999. Flames in the rain forest: Origins, impacts and alternatives to Amazonian fire. Pilot Program to Conserve the Brazlian Rain Forest. Ministry of Environment, Secretariat for the Coordination of Amazon.

Fire in Amazon Rain Forests: Some General Remarks

The Brazilian Institute for Environment and Natural Resources (IBAMA) conducted an extensive study of burning activities in the Amazon region which is generally refereed to as “Arc of Deforestation” (arco do desflorestamento) in which the forest conversion by fire and wildfire activities are predominantly occurring.

Fig.8. Arc of Deforestation in Brazil
(Source: IBAMA 1998)

IBAMA differentiates between two kinds of vegetation fires, agricultural burnings (queimadas), where fire is traditionally used as a tool for preparing pasture or crop land. The other type of vegetation fire is defined as “uncontrolled fire in any kind of vegetation, caused either by man or natural causes” (“wildfire” or “forest fire”).

Most of the fires in Brazil must be seen in the context of intensive land development. Fire is used as a tool in forest conversion. This is done by small farmers as well as large agro-industrial companies. The careless use of fire often allow the “prescribed” burnings to escape and become forest fires in the adjacent forests. These wildfires are of global importance because they threaten global biodiversity as well as the livelihood and cultural identity of the indigenous people in Amazonia.

Almost all fires in the Amazon Region are human-caused, natural fires play a minor role in the tropical rain forest of Brazil and neighbouring countries. In the seasonally dry forests and bush formations (cerrado) lightning fires are observed occasionally.

Under normal weather conditions the primary forest in the humid tropics does not catch fire. The hydrological cycle in the closed forests produces a very humid microclimate where unfavourable conditions for forest fire exist. But in forests where selective logging already took place the former closed canopy is disturbed. This allows more light to penetrate through the canopy and thereby changing the energy balance within the forest – the forest becomes more susceptible to drought. With trees shedding their leaves in the extreme drought stress caused by the El Nino event in 1998 the fuel for forest fires increases dramatically and the risk of high intensity wildfires increases.

The following town regions in the State of Para and Apiacas, Mato Grosso and Rondonia were identified by IBAMA as high risk areas for destructive forest fires. This classification is based on the fact that in this region logging, mining and illegal prospecting and free range cattle rearing are concentrated in Brazil:

Tab.1. Town regions with high risk of forest fires

State of Para and Apiacas

State of Mato Grosso

State of Rondonia

Paragominas
Conceicao do Araguaia
Eldorado dos Carajas
Maraba
Parauapebas
Redencao

Alta Floresta
Nova Canaa do Norte
Colider
Sinop
Peixoto Azevedo
Sao Felix do Xingu
Porto Alegre do Norte
Luciara
Santa Terezinha

Ji-Parana
Ariquemes
Alto Paraiso
Nova Mamore

The Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) and IPAM Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazonia have prepared an Information Bulletin for the Buenos Aires Climate Conference. The bulletin describes the early warning of the upcoming fire seaon in Brazil early 1998 and the extent of damage. The bulletin provides also links to the WHRC and IPAM websites.

The Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE) provides real-time satellite imagery of fire events in Brazil. The website of INPE is currently available in Brazilian (Portuguese), but will soon have an English version as well.

An extensive archive on the Brazilian fire events of this year can be found under the OSEI special on Brazil Fires.

A detailed study on the spatio-temporal dynamics of the Boa Vista- Roraima fire events by the Space Applications Institute of the Joint Research Centre European Commission (Ispra,Varese) for the CLAIRE/LBA study can be seen at: http://www.mtv.sai.jrc.it/parbo/Roraima_Web.html.

The Brazilian Environmental Monitoring Centre (NMA) EcoForca is an Brazilian NGO which gives extensive information about issues like deforestation, forest fires etc. in Brazil. The NMA website provides background information to the current situation in Brazil.

References:
IBAMA 1998.Programa de Prevencao e Controle as Queimadas e aos Incendios Florestais no Arco de Desflorestamento “PROARCO”. IBAMA, Brasilia, 49 p. (The full text of the documentation is available in Portuguese under http://www.ibama.gov.br/).

See also the Brazil IFFN Country Notes and the Amazon Emergency Fire Prevention and Control Project PROARCO of the World Bank.

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24. November 2017/by GFMCadmin