Fires in the South American Chaco, from dry forests to wetlands: response to climate depends on land cover

Autores
San Martín, Rodrigo; Ottlé, Catherine; Sörensson, Anna
Año de publicación
2023
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Background: Wildfires represent an important element in the bio-geophysical cycles of various ecosystems across the globe and are particularly related to land transformation in tropical and subtropical regions. In this study, we analyzed the links between fires, land use (LU), and meteorological variables in the South American Chaco (1.1 million km2), a global deforestation hotspot and fire-exposed region that has recently attracted greater attention as the largest and one of the last tropical dry forests in the world. Results: We found that the Dry Chaco (73% of the total area of Chaco) exhibits a unimodal fire seasonality (winter-spring), and the Wet Chaco (the remaining 23%) displays a bimodal seasonality (summer-autumn and winter-spring). While most of the burnt area (BA) was found in the Wet Chaco (113,859 km2; 55% of the entire BA), the Dry Chaco showed the largest fraction of forest loss (93,261 km2; 88% of the entire forest loss). Between 2001 and 2019, 26% of the entire Chaco’s forest loss occurred in areas with BA detections, and this percentage varies regionally and across countries, revealing potential connections to LU and policy. Argentina lost 51,409 km2 of its Chaco tree cover, surpassing the forest losses of Paraguay and Bolivia, and 40% of this loss was related to fire detections. The effect of meteorological fluctuations on fuel production and flammability varies with land cover (LC), which emerged as the principal factor behind BA. While wet areas covered with herbaceous vegetation showed negative correlations between BA and precipitation, some dry regions below 800 mm/year, and mostly covered by shrublands, showed positive correlations. These results reveal the two different roles of precipitation in (a) moisture content and flammability and (b) production of biomass fuel. Conclusions: As fires and deforestation keep expanding in the South American Chaco, our study represents a step forward to understanding their drivers and effects. BA is dependent on LC types, which explains the discrepancies in fire frequency and seasonality between the Wet and Dry Chaco subregions. The links between fires and deforestation also vary between regions and between countries, exposing the role of anthropic forcing, land management, and policy. To better understand the interactions between these drivers, further studies at regional scale combining environmental sciences with social sciences are needed. Such research should help policy makers take action to preserve and protect the remaining forests and wetlands of the Chaco.
Fil: San Martín, Rodrigo. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia
Fil: Ottlé, Catherine. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia
Fil: Sörensson, Anna. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; Argentina
Materia
BURNT AREA
CCI FIRE
DEFORESTATION
DRY TROPICAL FORESTS
FIRE REGIME
GRAN CHACO
LAND COVER
WETLANDS
WILDFIRES
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/224784

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network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Fires in the South American Chaco, from dry forests to wetlands: response to climate depends on land coverSan Martín, RodrigoOttlé, CatherineSörensson, AnnaBURNT AREACCI FIREDEFORESTATIONDRY TROPICAL FORESTSFIRE REGIMEGRAN CHACOLAND COVERWETLANDSWILDFIREShttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.5https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1Background: Wildfires represent an important element in the bio-geophysical cycles of various ecosystems across the globe and are particularly related to land transformation in tropical and subtropical regions. In this study, we analyzed the links between fires, land use (LU), and meteorological variables in the South American Chaco (1.1 million km2), a global deforestation hotspot and fire-exposed region that has recently attracted greater attention as the largest and one of the last tropical dry forests in the world. Results: We found that the Dry Chaco (73% of the total area of Chaco) exhibits a unimodal fire seasonality (winter-spring), and the Wet Chaco (the remaining 23%) displays a bimodal seasonality (summer-autumn and winter-spring). While most of the burnt area (BA) was found in the Wet Chaco (113,859 km2; 55% of the entire BA), the Dry Chaco showed the largest fraction of forest loss (93,261 km2; 88% of the entire forest loss). Between 2001 and 2019, 26% of the entire Chaco’s forest loss occurred in areas with BA detections, and this percentage varies regionally and across countries, revealing potential connections to LU and policy. Argentina lost 51,409 km2 of its Chaco tree cover, surpassing the forest losses of Paraguay and Bolivia, and 40% of this loss was related to fire detections. The effect of meteorological fluctuations on fuel production and flammability varies with land cover (LC), which emerged as the principal factor behind BA. While wet areas covered with herbaceous vegetation showed negative correlations between BA and precipitation, some dry regions below 800 mm/year, and mostly covered by shrublands, showed positive correlations. These results reveal the two different roles of precipitation in (a) moisture content and flammability and (b) production of biomass fuel. Conclusions: As fires and deforestation keep expanding in the South American Chaco, our study represents a step forward to understanding their drivers and effects. BA is dependent on LC types, which explains the discrepancies in fire frequency and seasonality between the Wet and Dry Chaco subregions. The links between fires and deforestation also vary between regions and between countries, exposing the role of anthropic forcing, land management, and policy. To better understand the interactions between these drivers, further studies at regional scale combining environmental sciences with social sciences are needed. Such research should help policy makers take action to preserve and protect the remaining forests and wetlands of the Chaco.Fil: San Martín, Rodrigo. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Ottlé, Catherine. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Sörensson, Anna. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; ArgentinaSpringer2023-12info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/224784San Martín, Rodrigo; Ottlé, Catherine; Sörensson, Anna; Fires in the South American Chaco, from dry forests to wetlands: response to climate depends on land cover; Springer; Fire Ecology; 19; 1; 12-2023; 1-201933-9747CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1186/s42408-023-00212-4info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-09-03T09:56:45Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/224784instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-09-03 09:56:45.443CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Fires in the South American Chaco, from dry forests to wetlands: response to climate depends on land cover
title Fires in the South American Chaco, from dry forests to wetlands: response to climate depends on land cover
spellingShingle Fires in the South American Chaco, from dry forests to wetlands: response to climate depends on land cover
San Martín, Rodrigo
BURNT AREA
CCI FIRE
DEFORESTATION
DRY TROPICAL FORESTS
FIRE REGIME
GRAN CHACO
LAND COVER
WETLANDS
WILDFIRES
title_short Fires in the South American Chaco, from dry forests to wetlands: response to climate depends on land cover
title_full Fires in the South American Chaco, from dry forests to wetlands: response to climate depends on land cover
title_fullStr Fires in the South American Chaco, from dry forests to wetlands: response to climate depends on land cover
title_full_unstemmed Fires in the South American Chaco, from dry forests to wetlands: response to climate depends on land cover
title_sort Fires in the South American Chaco, from dry forests to wetlands: response to climate depends on land cover
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv San Martín, Rodrigo
Ottlé, Catherine
Sörensson, Anna
author San Martín, Rodrigo
author_facet San Martín, Rodrigo
Ottlé, Catherine
Sörensson, Anna
author_role author
author2 Ottlé, Catherine
Sörensson, Anna
author2_role author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv BURNT AREA
CCI FIRE
DEFORESTATION
DRY TROPICAL FORESTS
FIRE REGIME
GRAN CHACO
LAND COVER
WETLANDS
WILDFIRES
topic BURNT AREA
CCI FIRE
DEFORESTATION
DRY TROPICAL FORESTS
FIRE REGIME
GRAN CHACO
LAND COVER
WETLANDS
WILDFIRES
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.5
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Background: Wildfires represent an important element in the bio-geophysical cycles of various ecosystems across the globe and are particularly related to land transformation in tropical and subtropical regions. In this study, we analyzed the links between fires, land use (LU), and meteorological variables in the South American Chaco (1.1 million km2), a global deforestation hotspot and fire-exposed region that has recently attracted greater attention as the largest and one of the last tropical dry forests in the world. Results: We found that the Dry Chaco (73% of the total area of Chaco) exhibits a unimodal fire seasonality (winter-spring), and the Wet Chaco (the remaining 23%) displays a bimodal seasonality (summer-autumn and winter-spring). While most of the burnt area (BA) was found in the Wet Chaco (113,859 km2; 55% of the entire BA), the Dry Chaco showed the largest fraction of forest loss (93,261 km2; 88% of the entire forest loss). Between 2001 and 2019, 26% of the entire Chaco’s forest loss occurred in areas with BA detections, and this percentage varies regionally and across countries, revealing potential connections to LU and policy. Argentina lost 51,409 km2 of its Chaco tree cover, surpassing the forest losses of Paraguay and Bolivia, and 40% of this loss was related to fire detections. The effect of meteorological fluctuations on fuel production and flammability varies with land cover (LC), which emerged as the principal factor behind BA. While wet areas covered with herbaceous vegetation showed negative correlations between BA and precipitation, some dry regions below 800 mm/year, and mostly covered by shrublands, showed positive correlations. These results reveal the two different roles of precipitation in (a) moisture content and flammability and (b) production of biomass fuel. Conclusions: As fires and deforestation keep expanding in the South American Chaco, our study represents a step forward to understanding their drivers and effects. BA is dependent on LC types, which explains the discrepancies in fire frequency and seasonality between the Wet and Dry Chaco subregions. The links between fires and deforestation also vary between regions and between countries, exposing the role of anthropic forcing, land management, and policy. To better understand the interactions between these drivers, further studies at regional scale combining environmental sciences with social sciences are needed. Such research should help policy makers take action to preserve and protect the remaining forests and wetlands of the Chaco.
Fil: San Martín, Rodrigo. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia
Fil: Ottlé, Catherine. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia
Fil: Sörensson, Anna. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; Argentina
description Background: Wildfires represent an important element in the bio-geophysical cycles of various ecosystems across the globe and are particularly related to land transformation in tropical and subtropical regions. In this study, we analyzed the links between fires, land use (LU), and meteorological variables in the South American Chaco (1.1 million km2), a global deforestation hotspot and fire-exposed region that has recently attracted greater attention as the largest and one of the last tropical dry forests in the world. Results: We found that the Dry Chaco (73% of the total area of Chaco) exhibits a unimodal fire seasonality (winter-spring), and the Wet Chaco (the remaining 23%) displays a bimodal seasonality (summer-autumn and winter-spring). While most of the burnt area (BA) was found in the Wet Chaco (113,859 km2; 55% of the entire BA), the Dry Chaco showed the largest fraction of forest loss (93,261 km2; 88% of the entire forest loss). Between 2001 and 2019, 26% of the entire Chaco’s forest loss occurred in areas with BA detections, and this percentage varies regionally and across countries, revealing potential connections to LU and policy. Argentina lost 51,409 km2 of its Chaco tree cover, surpassing the forest losses of Paraguay and Bolivia, and 40% of this loss was related to fire detections. The effect of meteorological fluctuations on fuel production and flammability varies with land cover (LC), which emerged as the principal factor behind BA. While wet areas covered with herbaceous vegetation showed negative correlations between BA and precipitation, some dry regions below 800 mm/year, and mostly covered by shrublands, showed positive correlations. These results reveal the two different roles of precipitation in (a) moisture content and flammability and (b) production of biomass fuel. Conclusions: As fires and deforestation keep expanding in the South American Chaco, our study represents a step forward to understanding their drivers and effects. BA is dependent on LC types, which explains the discrepancies in fire frequency and seasonality between the Wet and Dry Chaco subregions. The links between fires and deforestation also vary between regions and between countries, exposing the role of anthropic forcing, land management, and policy. To better understand the interactions between these drivers, further studies at regional scale combining environmental sciences with social sciences are needed. Such research should help policy makers take action to preserve and protect the remaining forests and wetlands of the Chaco.
publishDate 2023
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2023-12
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/224784
San Martín, Rodrigo; Ottlé, Catherine; Sörensson, Anna; Fires in the South American Chaco, from dry forests to wetlands: response to climate depends on land cover; Springer; Fire Ecology; 19; 1; 12-2023; 1-20
1933-9747
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/224784
identifier_str_mv San Martín, Rodrigo; Ottlé, Catherine; Sörensson, Anna; Fires in the South American Chaco, from dry forests to wetlands: response to climate depends on land cover; Springer; Fire Ecology; 19; 1; 12-2023; 1-20
1933-9747
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1186/s42408-023-00212-4
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https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
collection CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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