Characterization of Forest Fires to Support Monitoring and Management of Mount Kenya Forest

Claudio Poletti,Marco Barbujani,Gergo Dioszegi,John Ngugi Kigomo,Kevin Wafula Nyongesa,Harald Vacik

doi:10.1659/mrd-journal-d-18-00104.1

Abstract

Historical analysis of wildfire frequency, intensity, size, season, and type helps to determine the fire regime and the impacts of human activity in a region. Information about the temporal and spatial distribution of forest fires can help guide the formulation of integrated fire management policies. Mt Kenya Forest provides ecosystem services that sustain the livelihoods of local communities. However, forest fires have negatively affected sustainability of these services. This study describes recent fire patterns in the Mt Kenya forest. Field observations recorded by the Kenya Forest Service from 1980 to 2015 are analyzed. In addition, trends in fire occurrence over time and in relation to vegetation type are described. Key findings evidence a fire-prone period in February and March and a decrease of total burned area during the study period. Bush and grassland were the most fire-prone vegetation, and the fire regime varied in each forest station. Further, field observations were compared with satellite data. Some discrepancies between the field and satellite fire data were observed, especially for larger fires. These findings confirm the importance of monitoring efforts by the Kenya Forest Service to inform wildfire management. Recommendations are made on ways to improve fire monitoring and fire suppression efforts.

Highlights

Fire is a key factor shaping the landscape and influencing vegetation structure (Dempewolf 2007) and composition (Detsch et al 2016)
It can be stated that the Mt Kenya fire regime is similar to that of the country as a whole (Nyongesa 2015), with a higher number of forest fires and a lower total burned area in the last period
Fire occurrence and spreads are related to the prevailing weather conditions, type of vegetation, intensity of local residents’ activities that cause fires in the Mt Kenya Forest (Poletti 2016; Nyongesa and Vacik 2018; Nyongesa and Vacik 2019)

Summary

Introduction

Fire is a key factor shaping the landscape and influencing vegetation structure (Dempewolf 2007) and composition (Detsch et al 2016). Distribution, and severity are fundamental drivers of ecosystem dynamics (Tansey et al 2004), and many ecosystems are well adapted to recurring fire events, human activities and climate change have modified traditional fire regimes. In Kenya, the human impact on fire regimes became more intense after the introduction of industrial plantations in 1930 (Colombaroli et al 2016). In contrast to other regions, where fire occurrence has recently decreased (Detsch et al 2016), in Kenya the annual fire frequency slightly increased in the last century, a consequence of a growing human population with increasing per capita food consumption that is driving agriculture expansion and affecting natural ecosystems (Grau et al 2008; Nyongesa 2015). The communities living around Mt Kenya depend on its forest for fuelwood, grazing, fishing, and nontimber forest products (Nyongesa and Vacik 2019). Pastoralists from neighboring counties bring their livestock to Mt Kenya to pasture during the dry season, increasing the pressure on resources (KWS 2010)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion