Estimation of Forest Fire Emissions in Southwest China from 2013 to 2017

Wenjia Wang,Jie Luo,Ranran Zhao,Yongming Zhang,Qixing Zhang

doi:10.3390/atmos11010015

Abstract

Forest fire emissions have a great impact on local air quality and the global climate. However, the current and detailed regional forest fire emissions inventories remain poorly studied. Here we used Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to estimate monthly emissions from forest fires at a spatial resolution of 500 m × 500 m in southwest China from 2013 to 2017. The spatial and seasonal variations of forest fire emissions were then analyzed at the provincial level. The results showed that the annual average emissions of CO2, CO, CH4, SO2, NH3, NOX, PM, black carbon, organic carbon, and non-methane volatile organic compounds from forest fires were 1423.19 × 103, 91.66 × 103, 4517.08, 881.07, 1545.04, 1268.28, 9838.91, 685.55, 7949.48, and 12,724.04 Mg, respectively. The forest fire emissions characteristics were consistent with the characteristics of forest fires, which show great spatial and temporal diversity. Higher pollutant emissions were concentrated in Yunnan and Tibet, with peak emissions occurring in spring and winter. Our work provides a better understanding of the spatiotemporal representation of regional forest fire emissions and basic data for forest fire management departments and related research on pollution and emissions controls. This method will also provide guidance for other areas to develop high-resolution regional forest fire emissions inventories.

Highlights

In terms of types of biomass burning, forest fires are the primary contributor to non-agricultural fire emissions in China [1,2]
The results suggested that annual average CO2, CO, CH4, SO2, NH3, NOX, PM2.5, black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), and NMVOCS emissions from forest fire were 1423.19 × 103, 91.66 × 103, 4517.08, 881.07, 1545.04, 1268.28, 9838.91, 685.55, 7949.48, and 12,724.04 Mg, respectively
The forest fire emissions in southwest China showed great spatial diversity, because forest fires are influenced by many factors and each province had different dominant factors and variables

Summary

Introduction

In terms of types of biomass burning, forest fires are the primary contributor to non-agricultural fire emissions in China [1,2]. Forest fires produce a large amount of trace gases and particulate matter worldwide, which worsen local and regional air quality and the global climate [3,4]. Future climate warming will increase the occurrence of forest fires, aggravating regional air quality and climate [5]. Forest fire emissions will account for a larger proportion of pollutant emissions. Since the seminal work on biomass burning emissions [6,7], numerous research studies on the estimation of biomass emissions at different spatial and temporal resolutions have been carried out.

Methods

Results

Conclusion