Number Of Forest Fires Research Articles

Restoration of stand on the site of burnt spruce forest in the Central Forest reserve

With the warming of the climate, the intensification of droughts and the drying up of coniferous forests, the number of forest fires is also increasing. Therefore, the study of the post-fire dynamics of stands and prospects for reforestation on burnt areas is especially relevant. The research was carried out in the Central Forest State Natural Biosphere Reserve (southern taiga) on the burnt area formed in 1999 as a result of a thunderstorm. The purpose of the work was: to describe the state of vegetation 22 years after burnout; to find out the characteristics of the stand formed on the burnt area and the possibility of their use for reconstructing the history of disturbancies in old spruce forests. The objectives of the study included: monitoring vegetation changes in the 1999 burnt area; studying the growth of spruce undergrowth in the burnt area; finding out the number and ratio of preliminary and subsequent renewal of tree species; analyzing the distribution and amount of coals in the sample plots (depending on the intensity of burnout and the state of the pre-fire stand). To study the state of vegetation after the burnout of the blueberry-wood sorrel and wood sorrel – nemoral-herb spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) forests, 14 sample plots (100 m2 each) were laid in the northwestern part of the burnt area. The sample plots covered 1.5 hectares. 22 years after the fire, a mixed small-leaved forest with a predominance of birch and a significant participation of spruce has been forming on the site of burnt spruce forests. Spruce is represented mainly by post-fire renewal. In the undergrowth, the ratio of pre- and post-renewal spruce is about 1 : 3. In the ground cover, a small number of nemoral herb species is recorded, and in the stand and undergrowth – almost complete absence of broad-leaved species. A lot of coals were found in soil digs in 4 sample plots (30%); there were no coals in 3 (20%) sample plots, and small coals in small amount were found in 7 (50%) sample plots. Assessing the possibilities of identifying the first post-fire generation of spruce in old stands, it must be said that none of the characteristics of a post-fire spruce stand is universal for its recognition. Only a set of features allows to identify the history of the stand. Distinctive features of the first post-old generation: the presence of coals in 30% of samples or more; a large admixture of birch and aspen; a large diversity of the aspen part of the stand; if there are broad-leaved species, they will be much younger than the spruce; the presence of a sharp decline, and then a rise in growths in a significant part of the oldest spruce trees; the main generation of spruce has initial radial growths on an average of 2.1 mm/year, and the absence of synchronous sharp rises of the growths at the beginning of life. The age of aspen most accurately corresponds to the year of the fire.

Изменения климата и лесные пожары как факторы риска здоровью (аналитический обзор)

Climate change in Russia contributes to an increase in the number of forest fires, especially in Siberia and the Far East, leading to the rise in the forest fire danger index. Increased air pollution, which is typical for a number of cities in these regions, is the reason for changes in population health due to the influx of significant volumes of smoke gases from forest fires into populated areas. Smoke from forest fires, consists of aerosols and gases and contains more than 40 pollutants. During fires, frequency of calls for emergency medical care for children tends to increase due to exacerbation of upper respiratory tract diseases, including laryngitis, pharyngitis and acute respiratory infections, as well as attacks of bronchial asthma, and longer exacerbation periods of this disease. Such respiratory dysfunctions appear a few days after fires, which should be taken into account when organizing health monitoring in such situations. Among adult population, an increase in the number of deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases has been proven during forest fires, and there tends to be an increase in the number of requests for medical care for COPD, bronchial asthma, myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease and other diseases. Fires in forest highlands in the Khabarovsk Krai result in deteriorating health of patients with neurological diseases. The generalization of the results obtained by domestic and foreign studies on this issue confirms the need to improve the air pollution monitoring system during forest fires with the determination of PM for timely preventive measures by health systems, Rospotrebnadzor, FMBA and other agencies. It also seems necessary to develop modeling of pollutant spread in ambient air in settlements exposed to them, with assessments of population health risks and development of preventive measures. Given the relevance of these studies, it is advisable to hold seminars with BRICS countries within the framework of international cooperation.

Climate change and forest fires as health risk factors (Analytical review)

Climate change in Russia contributes to an increase in the number of forest fires, especially in Siberia and the Far East, leading to the rise in the forest fire danger index. Increased air pollution, which is typical for a number of cities in these regions, is the reason for changes in population health due to the influx of significant volumes of smoke gases from forest fires into populated areas. Smoke from forest fires, consists of aerosols and gases and contains more than 40 pollutants. During fires, frequency of calls for emergency medical care for children tends to increase due to exacerbation of upper respiratory tract diseases, including laryngitis, pharyngitis and acute respiratory infections, as well as attacks of bronchial asthma, and longer exacerbation periods of this disease. Such respiratory dysfunctions appear a few days after fires, which should be taken into account when organizing health monitoring in such situations. Among adult population, an increase in the number of deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases has been proven during forest fires, and there tends to be an increase in the number of requests for medical care for COPD, bronchial asthma, myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease and other diseases. Fires in forest highlands in the Khabarovsk Krai result in deteriorating health of patients with neurological diseases. The generalization of the results obtained by domestic and foreign studies on this issue confirms the need to improve the air pollution monitoring system during forest fires with the determination of PM for timely preventive measures by health systems, Rospotrebnadzor, FMBA and other agencies. It also seems necessary to develop modeling of pollutant spread in ambient air in settlements exposed to them, with assessments of population health risks and development of preventive measures. Given the relevance of these studies, it is advisable to hold seminars with BRICS countries within the framework of international cooperation.

Relationship between Changes in the Frequency of Thunderstorms, the Number of Forest Fires in the Territory of Yugra, and Air Temperature and Solar Activity during Climate Warming

Relationship between Changes in the Frequency of Thunderstorms, the Number of Forest Fires in the Territory of Yugra, and Air Temperature and Solar Activity during Climate Warming

Methodology for estimating the contribution of forest fires in loss of offsite power events

Forest fires are disasters caused by natural or human factors and have environmental as well as economic impacts such as loss of biodiversity, agricultural damage, and property damage. According to statistics, the number of forest fires and the area damaged are gradually increasing in Korea. In addition, there are cases where the units 1, 2, and 6 of the Hanul Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) have already been affected by forest fires. Korea has recently initiated research on forest fires under multi-unit probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) project. This paper deals with the impact on the loss of offsite power (LOOP), which is one of the NPP incidents and accidents affected by forest fires. To estimate the frequency of LOOP induced by forest fires, the PSA methodology for earthquakes, a representative external event, was referred.

Comparative analysis of the relationship between leukemia trends with forest fires and solar activity in different age groups

BACKGROUND: Studying the etiology of leukemia is necessary to develop measures to prevent this pathology. AIM: Conduct a comparative analysis of the relationship between trends in the incidence of leukemia with forest fires and solar activity in different age groups. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Information on the incidence of leukemia in Russia in 1990–2019 was provided by the Moscow Research Oncological Institute named after P.A. Hertsen. Data on solar activity (Wolf numbers) and the number of forest fires were taken from open sources. A Pearson correlation analysis of dynamic series of environmental factors and the incidence of leukemia was carried out in 11 iterations with a time delay (lag) of 0–10 years. The obtained data was compared with similar information for the regions of Russia, the USA and Canada. RESULTS: A trend towards an increase in the incidence of leukemia in children and adults has been established in the populations of Russia, the USA and Canada. A relationship between the number of forest fires and the incidence of leukemia was found in 35 regions of Russia; the average correlation coefficient and lag were comparable to those previously identified in the Khabarovsk Territory. The correlation of Wolf numbers with the frequency of leukemia has been established in pediatric and full-age populations of Russia, Canada and the USA. In the full-age population of Russia, a tendency towards an increased connection between the frequency of leukemia and solar activity was revealed: in 1990–1999, the correlation was 0.697; in 2000–2009 it increased to 0.815; in 2010–2019 reached a very strong level (0.920), while the lag decreased from 6 to 4 years. CONCLUSION: Fluctuations in the incidence of leukemia in all age groups in Russia correlate with the number of forest fires and solar activity.

FOREST FIRES RISK IN A SEMI ARID REGION: A CASE STUDY IN WESTERN ALGERIA

Purpose: The objective of this study was to measure the fire risk of forests and to compare areas with high sensitivity to forest fires. Theoretical Framework: Many authors have demonstrated the fragility of Algerian forests in the face of fires (Belhadj, 2003; Souidi et al., 2010 and 2017). In this research paper, the researchers focused on identifying the factors responsible for the risk of forest fires in Algeria using a state-of-the-art tool, the Geographic Information System (GIS). The researchers explained a scientific process for exploring new indicators using GIS, and showed how to develop a forest fire risk map. Design/Methodology/Approach: The elaboration of the fire risk map requires the application of a model set up, and tested on forest areas in the Mediterranean region. The applied model involves the three main factors of forest fire risk assessment: topomorphology, fuel, and human occupation. Findings: According to the results obtained, our study area is dominated by a very high risk index. In addition, more than half of the surface area of our study zone is located in topomorphological conditions that are highly conducive to the multiplication of fires and can increase the risk of forest fires breaking out. This study will help us to better control the risk of fires and to manage fire-fighting operations in the field. Research, Practical & Social Implications: Mapping the risk of forest fires using GIS will help land managers and planners to identify sensitive areas for better preservation and intervention in the event of fire. Originality/Value: The results show that the number of forest fires is increasing over time and that managing them is becoming increasingly difficult. The use of a GIS for all stakeholder and managers will make it possible to combat forest fires.

A Combination of Human Activity and Climate Drives Forest Fire Occurrence in Central Europe: The Case of the Czech Republic

Central Europe is not a typical wildfire region; however, an increasingly warm and dry climate and model-based projections indicate that the number of forest fires are increasing. This study provides new insights into the drivers of forest fire occurrence in the Czech Republic, during the period 2006 to 2015, by focusing on climate, land cover, and human activity factors. The average annual number of forest fires during the study period was 728, with a median burned area of 0.01 ha. Forest fire incidence showed distinct spring (April) and summer (July to August) peaks, with median burned areas of 0.04 ha and 0.005 ha, respectively. Relationships between the predictors (climate data, forest-related data, socioeconomic data, and landscape-context data) and the number of forest fires in individual municipality districts were analyzed using Generalized Additive Models (GAM) on three time scales (annually, monthly, and during the summer season). The constructed GAMs explained 48.7 and 53.8% of forest fire variability when fire occurrence was analyzed on a monthly scale and during the summer season, respectively. On an annual scale, the models explained 71.4% of the observed forest fire variability. The number of forest fires was related to the number of residents and overnight tourists in the area. The effect of climate was manifested on monthly and summer season scales only, with warmer and drier conditions associated with higher forest fire frequency. A higher proportion of conifers and the length of the wildland–urban interface were also positively associated with forest fire occurrence. Forest fire occurrence was influenced by a combination of climatic, forest-related, and social activity factors. The effect of climate was most pronounced on a monthly scale, corresponding with the presence of two distinct seasonal peaks of forest fire occurrence. The significant effect of factors related to human activity suggests that measures to increase public awareness about fire risk and targeted activity regulation are essential in controlling the risk of fire occurrence in Central Europe. An increasing frequency of fire-conducive weather, forest structure transformations due to excessive tree mortality, and changing patterns of human activity on the landscape require permanent monitoring and assessment of possible shifts in forest fire risk.

Spatial and temporal patterns and driving factors of forest fires based on an optimal parameter-based geographic detector in the Panxi region, Southwest China

BackgroundThe Panxi region in China is among the areas that are most severely impacted by forest fires. Despite this, there is currently a lack of comprehensive and systematic research on the spatial and temporal distribution patterns, as well as the drivers, of forest fires in the region. To reveal bio-geo-climatic and anthropogenic influences, this study investigated the temporal and spatial characteristics of forest fires and migration patterns of the center of gravity of forest fires in Panxi. A parametric optimal geographical detection model was utilized to quantify the influence of various individual factors and their combinations on the spatial patterns of forest fire occurrence in the whole Panxi region and sub-region, by analyzing the forest fire dataset from 2004 to 2020.ResultsFrom 2004 to 2020, the Panxi region experienced an upward trend in the number of forest fires and the area burned. However, the trends were not consistent over the entire period. Between 2004 and 2014, both the number of fires and the area burned showed fluctuations and an overall increase. In contrast, between 2015 and 2020, there was a significant decrease in the number of fires, while the area burned showed a continued upward trend. The study identified abrupt changes in the frequency of forest fires and burned areas, primarily in 2007 and 2016. Spatially, forest fires in Panxi exhibited a positive correlation and local clustering. The river valley basin and hilly regions displayed a higher incidence of forest fires, which were concentrated mainly along the hill edges. In the whole area of Panxi, climatic factors have a predominant influence on forest fire occurrences. Specifically, evaporation, maximum temperature, average temperature, number of days without rain, and minimum temperature demonstrated the strongest explanatory power. Furthermore, this relationship was found to be reinforced when combined with topographical, human activities, and vegetation factors. The spatial variation of drought within each sub-district has a stronger explanatory power for the distribution characteristics of forest fires in the region than at the Panxi-wide scale. The factor with the maximum interaction in most regions was the dual factor of rainfall and drought.ConclusionsThe study’s findings validate the applicability of geographic probes for identifying the drivers of fire occurrence and enhance our understanding of the drivers and their combined effects on the spatial context of the fire-incident study area.

Study on Forest Fire Risk Analysis Based on Drought Scenarios

The number of forest fires is increasing worldwide owing to climate change. Forest fires linked to drought are becoming more frequent and severe than ever before. This causes massive damage. However, instead of quantification, studies have been conducted on the relationship between drought and forest fires. Therefore, this study quantitatively analyzed the increase in forest fire risk based on a drought scenario. We defined a 30-year frequency drought scenario for the Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, where the most forest fire damage occurred in 2022, and analyzed the risk of forest fires by calculating the Fire Weather Index (FWI) used in the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS). The precipitation in the drought scenario was 581 mm/year that was equivalent to 52% of the average annual precipitation. We noted that the drought Fire Weather Index (DFWI) was approximately 1.6 times greater than the average Fire Weather Index (AFWI). We quantitatively confirmed the extent to which the risk of forest fire increased under the influence of drought. Therefore, measures should be established not only for drought but also for forest fires when a drought occurs.

Effects of forest fire smoke deposition on soil physico-chemical properties and bacterial community

The number of forest fires has increased globally, together with considerable smoke emission that significantly impacts the atmospheric environment and associated ecosystems. Most current studies have focused on the in situ effects of fire on the forest ecosystem. However, the mechanisms by which smoke particles affect adjacent ecosystems are largely unexplored. In this study, a simulated forest fire combustion system was developed to evaluate the effect of different smoke concentrations (control, low and high) on soil physico-chemical properties of adjacent farmland at two soil depths. The abundance and diversity of bacterial community were also determined. The results showed that smoke deposition increased the contents of total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) in the 0–10 cm soil layer; however, no significant changes in soil water content (SWC) and pH values was observed. The ACE(Abundance Coverage-based Fastimator) and Chao1 diversity indices of bacterial community generally showed a downward trend whereas the PD_whole_ tree diversity index increased after 180 d of smoke deposition. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria remained stable, while abundance of Firmicutes in soil decreased after 180 d of smoke deposition. Smoke deposition slightly affected the physical and chemical properties of the 10–20 cm soil, but the range of variation of the relative abundance and diversity dominant bacteria exceeded that of the 0–10 cm soil. A significant positive correlation was found between the soil properties and the alpha diversity indices during the first 30 d after smoke deposition; the correlation then decreased gradually. Redundancy analysis revealed that Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria were generally positively correlated with TC, TN, and SWC. As a whole, the study reveals that the effects of smoke deposition on soil physico-chemical properties and bacterial community depends on smoke concentration where relatively low concentration appears to be beneficial to soil bacterial community.

Determining the fire season by analyzing climatic conditions in northeastern Serbia

The territory of Serbia is sensitive to forest fires, which endanger various systems and play an important role in shaping the ecosystem. The probability of the occurrence and spread of forest fires in the area of northeastern Serbia was examined, depending on the influence of climatic conditions. Changes in climatic conditions are investigated at the annual and monthly level of air temperature, precipitation and air humidity values recorded at three main meteorological stations (Zaječar, Negotin, Crni Vrh) in the area of northeastern Serbia. Changes in climatic conditions in the period 2009-2022 compared to the period 1961-1990 were analyzed, with an emphasis on 2012 and 2014. The length of the average fire season was determined through a modified version of Thornthwaite’s evapotranspiration index. The fire season is longer in the area of Negotin and Zaječar than in the area of Crni Vrh. On the basis of the monthly humidity indices, a significantly longer fire season was determined in 2012 compared to 2014, as well as the multi-year period 1961-1990.An analysis of the value of the Burning Index (B) for the period 2009-2022 was performed and a correlation was established with the data on the number of forest fires. The burning index in the area of northeastern Serbia is the highest during the months of July, August and September. Significantly higher values of the burning index are for 2012 compared to 2014, which is correlated with the occurrence of forest fires in this period.

СВЯЗЬ ПРИРОДНЫХ ПОЖАРОВ В РОССИЙСКИХ РЕГИОНАХ С АТМОСФЕРНЫМИ БЛОКИРОВАНИЯМИ

Results of the analysis of wildfires in Russian regions using satellite data for 2000-2021 are presented. The results indicate a predominant increase in the number of intense fires in Russia, which has been especially noticeable in recent years. Using reanalysis data, a significant correlation between wildfires in Russia and atmospheric blocking has been revealed. An integral blockings index, whose value can reach and exceed 10% for fire seasons in Russian regions from April to October, was used to characterize atmospheric blocking. It has been found that an increase in the integral blockings index by 1% corresponds to an increase in the number of forest fires in Russia by 14%. According to the estimates, the contribution to the variance of interannual change in the number of wildfires associated with atmospheric blockings reaches ~40%.

A METHOD TO DEFINE A CELL SIZE OF REGULAR NETWORK FOR INFRASTRUCTURAL TERRITORY ZONING WITH PURPOSE OF FOREST FIRE PROTECTION

Infrastructural projects at regional scale are ones of the important components of modern digital economy. In relation to the forestry, the main objects that determine infrastructural load of the territory in the forestry are the networks of fire stations and forest roads with settlements and public roads. A method to define a cell size of a regular uniform rectangular grid based on the pixel size of MODIS-based vegetation raster is described. It is based on the statistics of number of settlements, fire stations and road sections, as well as road sections lengths. Exploratory regression was used to choose a cell size with a number of forest fires as a dependent variable and number of settlements, road segments and fires stations as independent variables. It was found that the most optimal size of regular grid cell for Krasnoyark Region (Kray) is 24 km2. Paper’s findings could be used in climate and economic projects to estimate infrastructural load.

Математическая оценка достоверности информации о лесных пожарах

The rapid development of digital technologies, especially methods for processing a large amount of information, offers vast opportunities for obtaining new algorithms for supporting management decisions, including the prevention of forest fires. Therefore, the requirements for data accuracy on fire hazards in forests and forest fires considerably increase. Even though the remote sensing of the Earth from space is a potential method for acquiring information independent of the human factor, it still has several technical limitations that hinder total automation. Therefore, it is important to provide а comprehensive control over the information coming from the forest fire departments. Besides, the long-term fire risk prognoses must consider retrospective statistics and cyclical weather conditions. This requires the creation of methods for evaluating the reliability of the initial data. An analysis of the records on the number of forest fires that happened in the Russian Federation from 1969 to 2020 revealed that the distribution of the values in a large sampling set is close to lognormal, which is the author’s fundamental principle. The few deviations on the right side of the distribution indirectly support the hypothesis that, in the provided information, the large forest fires in each case were presented as smaller, fragmented events. This is also consistent with the fact that such information usually occurs when the forest fire situation is complex and has many burning locations. An analysis of the records on the forest fires extinguished within one day identified a characteristic deviation, which indirectly supports the assumption that the data was probably distorted to improve recording. In such a situation, the deviation from the pattern corresponds to low combustibility and completely loses its meaning in the conditions of a severe forest fire situation with many burning areas. The authors have formed a ranking of the regions according to the validity of the archival records on the forest fires using the correspondence of the statistical data to the lognormal distribution. The proposed method can become one of the elements of a risk-oriented approach for planning control and supervisory measures in forestry policy. For citation: Kotelnikov R.V., Martynyuk A.A. Mathematical Estimation of Information Reliability Regarding Forest Fires. Lesnoy Zhurnal = Russian Forestry Journal, 2023, no. 3, pp. 21–34. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.37482/0536-1036-2023-3-21-34

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DETECTING FOREST FIRE CONTOURS USING OPTICAL SATELLITE DATA

The number of forest fires has increased significantly over the past ten years. It indicates that forest area estimates fires are a very urgent task today. The use of satellite-based data simplifies the process of assessing forest fires. The aim is to develop an information tech-nology for automated forest fire contours detection on digital optical satellite datas in con-ditions of non-stationarity and uncertainty based on convolutional neural networks. The most popular tools for forest fire analysis are considered. This work proposed using hotspots to identify all fire and smoke pixels for automated forest fire contour detection. It made it possible to obtain contour polygons of the corresponding areas with various attrib-utes: position, size, etc. The results are tested on Sentinel 2 satellite images of the Ávila re-gion. The proposed method has an overall accuracy of 94.3% for the selection of forest fires.

Urbanization of Forest Fires: An Evaluation on Metropolitan Forest Fires in The Mediterranean Ecosystem

The main purpose of the study is to examine the impact of drastic and proactive forest fire interventions, which are applied to avoid the risk of loss of life and property close to urban areas, on the continuity of plant species with fire-adapted characters and the potential to cause species loss. In this context, the basic assumption of the study is that the reduced frequency of fires caused by suppressed fires in natural areas in order to avoid the risk of forest fires that may affect residential areas, will lead to the reduction of various plant species that sustain their lives thanks to their fire-adaptive characters. As a qualitative data analysis method, the rates of urban and forest areas, the number of forest fires, the amount of burned area and plant species diversity data were used to deal with the study data with document analysis. In the selection of the 10 metropolitan cities that constitute the sample area of the study, the criteria of being in the Mediterranean ecosystem, containing plant species adapted to fire, and being metropolitan (where natural and built environment elements are intertwined) were taken as basis. The study will create an ecological perspective in fire prevention policies and strategies to be developed through the determination of plant species characteristics in large cities located in the fire-prone Mediterranean ecosystem.

Characterization of Spatial–Temporal Distribution of Forest Fire in Chhattisgarh, India, Using MODIS-Based Active Fire Data

Forest fires are one of the most common natural and anthropogenic events that have long-term impacts on the environment. In this study, we analyzed 17 years of data on forest fires in Chhattisgarh, India, using active fire and burned area data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. Chhattisgarh was selected as the study area due to its high incidences of forest fires, significant forest cover, and scarce studies on forest fires. Our findings showed that the number of forest fires in the region increased over time, from 1487 forest fires in 2005 to 3074 forest fires in 2021, with the highest number of fires occurring in 2017 and 2009. Most of the fires occurred in deciduous broadleaf forests and savannas, following a consistent seasonal pattern, with the highest percentage of fires (88.88%) occurring in March, April, and May. The fire hotspot was located in the southwest region, dominated by deciduous broadleaf forests which are particularly prone to fires. These results emphasize the significance of effective fire management strategies that consider the seasonal and annual variability of forest fires, particularly in high-risk areas. Immediate attention to controlling forest fires is also critical to minimize its impact on the environment and local communities.

Связь активности Солнца и лесных пожаров с позиций онкогенеза

The effect of solar radiation and forest fires smoke on cancer incidence has been studied and published in many research periodicals. Researchers found many indirect signs of the impact of the solar activity on the periodicity of landscape fires. The paper presents the research on the relationship between the solar activity and landscape fires, as well as the assessment of the role of natural events in carcinogenesis. The Pearson correlation analysis of the relationship between the dynamic series of the solar activity and the number of forest fires in the Khabarovsk Territory (1970-2019), in Russia and also separately in all its administrative territories (1992-2019) was analyzed in 11 iterations with a lag from 0 to 10 years. The reliable correlation was revealed in the Khabarovsk Territory (r=0.414; p=0.003) and in the whole Russia (r=0.472; p=0.011) with a lag of 7 years. The average bond strength in the regions of Russia in the 23rd cycle of the solar activity increased to a strong one (r=0.700±0.235), the average lag was 7.2±0.9 years. The role of cyclic changes in the solar radiation as the prerequisites for the landscape fires occurrence and the causes of fires was discussed. The discovery of an internal relation between the powerful environmental factors such as solar activity and forest fires is a significant supplement to the existing ideas about the nature of environmentally incused carcinogenesis.

Climatic and anthropogenic impacts on forest fires in conditions of extreme fire danger on sandy soils

Forests on sandy soils are particularly vulnerable to fire. The study area in this research was Deliblatska pescara (the Deliblato Sands), one of the most endangered areas in Serbia. The linear trends, the polynomial trends and the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) were applied. Statistically significant decrease in the number of forest fires was found, while the increasing trends of the burned area and burned forest area were not significant. There was also an increase in the air temperature during the same period. In a study of the connection between forest fires and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), significant values of r were statistically observed only for the annual number of fires. The highest values were recorded for June (-0.373) and July (-0.375), and for summer r = -0.374 (statistically significant at p ? .01). As for the AMO in the main fire season (February-August), r = -0.331 (statistically significant at p ? .01). In settlements in Deliblatska pescara area, there were trends of the decreasing number of inhabitants, agricultural population, and agricultural households in the investigated period. These trends contribute to the reduction of fire risk. The r value between the dynamics of the number of fires and the population is .50 (statistically significant at p ? .01). The reduced agricultural activity contributes to the reduction of fire risk, while increased tourist presence is a risk factor.