Forest fires in Indian ecosystems

Abstract

Forest fires are almost annual disturbance events in several forest types in the Western Ghats, however very little information exists on different aspects of fires. I examine variations in the regional fire regime that are related to forest type and past human disturbances in a landscape. Using a combination of remote sensing data and GIS techniques, burnt areas were delineated in three different forest types and various metrics of fire size were estimated. Belt transects were enumerated to assess the forest characteristics and fire effects in the landscape. Temporal trends suggest increasingly short FRI in the landscape. In the deciduous forest, the mean FRI is 6 yr, in the tropical dry thorn forest mean FRI is 10 yr, and in the tropical moist deciduous forest mean FRI is 20 yr. Tropical dry deciduous forests burned more frequently and had the largest number of fires in any given year as well as the single largest fire (9900 ha). The model of FRI as a function of distance from park boundary explained 64% of the spatial variation of FRI in the landscape. Forest fires had significant impacts on species diversity and regeneration in the tropical dry deciduous forests. Species diversity declined by 50% and 60% in the moderate and high frequency classes respectively compared to the low fire frequency class. Sapling density declined by ca. 30% in both moderate and high frequency classes compared to low frequency class. In tropical moist deciduous ecosystems, there were substantial declines in species diversity, tree density, seedling and sapling densities in burned forests compared to the unburned forests. In contrast forest fires in tropical dry thorn forests had a marginal positive effect on ecosystem diversity, structure, and regeneration.

Speaker

Dr. Narendran Kodandapani, French Institute of Pondicherry.

Organisers

Department of Ecology, French Institute of Pondicherry.

Venue

Jawaharlal Nehru Conference Hall, French Institute of Pondicherry, 11, Saint Louis Street, Pondicherry - 605 001.

Time

4.30 pm