The influence of climate parameters on fires in the Paraíba do Sul River valley, southeast Brazil

Abstract

Brazilian biomes have been experiencing an increase in fires during the whole year, but fires increase substantially during drier periods. Several indexes might be good indicators of the severity of the droughts, such as The Rainfall Anomaly Index (RAI), Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Vegetation Health Index (VHI). This study therefore aimed to understand the dynamics of climate, using some indexes and fires in Paraíba do Sul River Valley, Paulista portion, to verify whether fire is more likely to spread in hotter and drier years. We hypothesized that fire events are more frequent and burned areas are larger in hotter and drier years in the region. By conducting a cross-correlation analysis and separating the monthly data into dry and rainy seasons, it was possible to establish a correlation between climate parameters and fire. A significant correlation was found between RAI and fires in both seasons. Additionally, we observed that high occurrences of fire events and burning areas were more explained by RAI, VHI and SPI-3 in dry and wet seasons than by temperature and SPI-1, SPI-6 and SPI-12. We noticed a complex dynamic between fire events, burned area, the environment, and climatic variables. However, the studied indexes proved to be effective tools for detecting drought conditions in the region and their relationship to fire.

Keywords: burning, climatic indexes, Paraíba do Sul River Valley.