Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Vegetation Fires in the Lubumbashi Charcoal Production Basin (The Democratic Republic of the Congo): Drivers, Extent, and Spatio-Temporal Dynamics

Yannick Useni Sikuzani
ORCID logo ,
Médard Mpanda Mukenza
* ORCID logo ,
Héritier Khoji Muteya
,
Nadège Cirezi Cizungu
ORCID logo ,
François Malaisse
,
Jan Bogaert
* ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 20 November 2023 / Approved: 20 November 2023 / Online: 21 November 2023 (09:58:33 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Useni Sikuzani, Y.; Mpanda Mukenza, M.; Khoji Muteya, H.; Cirezi Cizungu, N.; Malaisse, F.; Bogaert, J. Vegetation Fires in the Lubumbashi Charcoal Production Basin (The Democratic Republic of the Congo): Drivers, Extent and Spatiotemporal Dynamics. Land 2023, 12, 2171. Useni Sikuzani, Y.; Mpanda Mukenza, M.; Khoji Muteya, H.; Cirezi Cizungu, N.; Malaisse, F.; Bogaert, J. Vegetation Fires in the Lubumbashi Charcoal Production Basin (The Democratic Republic of the Congo): Drivers, Extent and Spatiotemporal Dynamics. Land 2023, 12, 2171.

Abstract

In the Lubumbashi charcoal production basin (LCPB) in south-eastern DR Congo, agricultural and charcoal production activities regularly give rise to fires that lead to considerable degradation of the miombo open forest. This study analyzes the drivers of the spatio-temporal distribution of active fires and burnt areas in the LCPB by processing MODIS and Landsat data. In addition, a Kernel density analysis method (KDE) was used to estimate fire risk, while the effect of the road network and dwellings on vegetation fires was highlighted in areas between 0-3000m radius. Obtained results revealed that fires in the LCPB generally occur between April and November mainly during the day, between 11am and 12pm. These fires are concentrated in the central and south-western part of the LCPB, more specifically in the savannahs and near roads. From 2002 to 2022, an average of 11,237 active fires and an average of 6,337 km2 of burnt areas were recorded in the LCPB. Each year, these fires peak in August, and despite their steady decline, the few fires that have affected the forests have caused more devastation (more than 2790 km2 / year) than those observed in the fields and savannah. These figures highlight the imperative need to put in place fire prevention and management measures in the LCPB, with particular emphasis on awareness, monitoring and fire-fighting measures.

Keywords

Agriculture, carbonisation, bushfire, GIS/remote sensing, landscape ecology

Subject

Environmental and Earth Sciences, Remote Sensing

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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