HR: 0800h
AN: B11D-0775    [Abstracts]
TI: The influence of rainfall, vegetation, elephants and people on fire frequency of miombo woodlands, northern Mozambique
AU: * Ribeiro, N S
EM: nsr8s@virginia.edu
AF: Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, P.O.Box 257, Maputo, Map 257, Mozambique
AU: Okin, G S
EM: okin@ucla.edu
AF: University of California, Departmentof Geography 1255 Bunche Hall University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
AU: Shugart, H
AF: University of Virginia, 291 McCormick Rd. Clark Hall, Charlottesville, va 22903, United States
AU: Swap, R
EM: swaper@virginia.edu
AF: University of Virginia, 291 McCormick Rd. Clark Hall, Charlottesville, va 22903, United States
AB: Miombo woodlands are important in southern Africa as they occupy over 50% of the land and, their good and services support a large proportion of people in the region. Anthropogenic fires occur in miombo every year especially in the dry season (May – October). This study explores the influence of annual rainfall, elephant density, human density and corridors, and vegetation on the fire frequency. It was carried out in Niassa Reserve located in northern Mozambique, the largest and more pristine conservation area of miombo woodlands in the world. We used a time series analysis and statistical t-test of MODIS-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) to explore the relationship between biomass and fire frequency. The influence of rainfall, elephants, people and vegetation on fire return was explored using a stepwise logistic regression analysis. The results of this study indicate that fire frequency is higher in places with high biomass at beginning of the dry season. In these areas fire seems to be more intense and to strongly reduce biomass in the late dry season. Land cover is the strongest predictor of fire frequency, but elephant density, annual rainfall and human corridors are also important.
DE: 0410 Biodiversity
DE: 0428 Carbon cycling (4806)
DE: 0480 Remote sensing
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting