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Fires in Amazonia

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Interactions Between Biosphere, Atmosphere and Human Land Use in the Amazon Basin

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 227))

Abstract

Fire has been used since the first humans arrived in Amazonia; however, it has recently become a widely used instrument for large-scale forest clearance. Patterns of fire incidence in the region have been exacerbated by recent drought events. Understanding temporal and spatial fire patterns as well as their consequences for forest structure, species composition, and the carbon cycle is critical for minimising global change impacts on Amazonian ecosystems and people. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the state of our knowledge on the spatial and temporal patterns of fire incidence in Amazonia, depicting the historical fire usage in the region, their relationship with land use and land cover, and their responses to climate seasonality and droughts. We subsequently focus on the impacts of fire, by quantifying the extent of burnt forests during major droughts and describing the main impacts on forest structure, composition, and carbon stocks. Finally, we present an overview of modelling initiatives for forecasting fire incidence in the region. We conclude by providing a comprehensive view of the processes that influence fire occurrence, potential feedbacks, and impacts in Amazonia. We also highlight how key areas within fire ecology must be improved for a better understanding of the long-term effect of fire on the Amazon forest ‘biome’.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Remote Sensing Division, National Institute for Space Research—INPE, 12227-010, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil

    Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, Liana O. Anderson, André Lima & Egidio Arai

  2. College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK

    Luiz E. O. C. Aragão

  3. Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Liana O. Anderson

Authors
  1. Luiz E. O. C. Aragão
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  2. Liana O. Anderson
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  3. André Lima
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  4. Egidio Arai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luiz E. O. C. Aragão .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brazil

    Laszlo Nagy

  2. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Manaus, Brazil

    Bruce R. Forsberg

  3. Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Paulo Artaxo

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Aragão, L.E.O.C., Anderson, L.O., Lima, A., Arai, E. (2016). Fires in Amazonia. In: Nagy, L., Forsberg, B., Artaxo, P. (eds) Interactions Between Biosphere, Atmosphere and Human Land Use in the Amazon Basin. Ecological Studies, vol 227. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-49902-3_13

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