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Contrasting fire regimes in a seasonally dry tropical forest and a savanna ecosystem in the western Ghats, India

Kodandapani, Narendran (2013) Contrasting fire regimes in a seasonally dry tropical forest and a savanna ecosystem in the western Ghats, India. In: Fire Ecology, 9 (2). pp. 102-115.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.4996/fireecology.0902102

Abstract

Tropical dry forests and savannas constitute more than half of all tropical forests and grasslands, but little is known about forest fire regimes within these two extensive types of ecosystems. Forest fire regimes in a predominantly dry forest in India, the Nilgiri landscape, and a predominantly savanna ecosystem in the Sathyamangalam landscape, were examined. Remote sensing data were applied to delineate burned areas, determine fire size characteristics, and to estimate fire-rotation intervals. Belt transects (0.5 ha) were used to estimate forest structure, diversity, and fuel loads. Mean area burned, mean number of fires, and mean fire size per year were substantially higher in the Nilgiri landscape compared to the Sathyamangalam landscape. Mean fire-rotational interval was 7.1 yr in the Nilgiri landscape and 44.1 yr in the Sathyamangalam landscape. Tree (>= 10 cm diameter at breast height) species diversity, tree density, and basal area were significantly higher in the Nilgiri landscape compared to the Sathyamangalam landscape. Total fuel loads were significantly higher in tropical dry and moist deciduous forests in the Nilgiri landscape, but total fuel loads were higher in the tropical dry thorn forests of the Sathyamangalam landscape. Thus, the two landscapes revealed contrasting fire regimes and forest characteristics, with more and four-fold larger fires in the Nilgiri landscape. The dry forests and savannas could be maintained by a combination of factors, such as fire, grazing pressures, and herbivore populations. Understanding the factors maintaining these two ecosystems will be critical for their conservation.

Item Type: Journal Article
Publication: Fire Ecology
Publisher: Association for Fire Ecology
Additional Information: Copyright of this article belongs to Association for Fire Ecology.
Keywords: Conservation; India; Fire Regimes; Fire-Rotation Interval; Fire Size
Department/Centre: Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences
Date Deposited: 01 Oct 2013 11:38
Last Modified: 01 Oct 2013 11:38
URI: http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/47449

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