Vegetation fire activity in sumatra since 2002

Abstract

Sumatra Island is one of the main fire concentration areas in insular Southeast Asia. In this study we use Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) active fire (i.e. hotspot) data together with land cover and peat maps to investigate the trends of fire activity in Sumatra from 2002 to 2009. Special attention is given to the characteristics of fire activity on peat as well as the connection between fires and land cover changes. In addition, we analysed the relationships between fire occurrence and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Our results show that fire activity remains generally high in Sumatra throughout the study period. However, it was also noticed that fires were mainly concentrated in the provinces of Riau, Jambi and South Sumatra. In addition to small-holder fires, annual large land conversion fires commonly occurred especially in peat area. And finally, areas deforested during the study period had dramatically higher fire density than other areas, suggesting the continuing use of fire as a tool in land conversion in Sumatra.