Detection of vegetation fires and burnt areas by remote sensing in insular Southeast Asian conditions: current status of knowledge and future challenges

Abstract

The humid tropical insular Southeast Asian region is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world. It contains around 70 Gt of carbon stored in peat deposits susceptible to burning when drained and it has significantly higher population density than any other humid tropical region. This region experiences yearly fire activity of anthropogenic origin with widely varying extent and severity. At the same time, there are several geographic, climatic, and social aspects that complicate fire monitoring in the region. In this review article, we analyse the current knowledge and limitations of active fire detection and burnt area mapping in insular Southeast Asia, highlighting the special characteristics of the region that affect all types of remote-sensing-based regional-level fire monitoring. We conclude that the monitoring methods currently employed have serious limitations that directly affect the reliability of results for fire and burnt area monitoring in this region. With the materials and methods presently available, the regional and global effects of fire activity taking place in insular Southeast Asia are in danger of being underestimated. New approaches utilizing higher spatial and temporal resolution remote-sensing data are needed for more detailed quantification of fire activity and subsequently improved estimation of the effects of fires in this region.