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Biomass burning fuel consumption dynamics in the (sub)tropics assessed from satellite

N. Andela,G. Werf,J. Kaiser,T. V. Leeuwen,M. Wooster,C. Lehmann

Published 2016 in Biogeosciences Discussions

ABSTRACT

. Landscape fires occur on a large scale in (sub)tropical savannas and grasslands, affecting ecosystem dynamics, 15 regional air quality and concentrations of atmospheric trace gasses. Fuel consumption per unit of area burned is an important but poorly constrained parameter in fire emission modelling. We combined satellite-derived burned area with fire radiative power (FRP) data to derive fuel consumption estimates for land cover types with low tree cover in South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Australia. We developed a new approach to estimate fuel consumption, based on FRP data from the polar orbiting MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the geostationary Spinning Enhanced Visible 20 and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) in combination with MODIS burned area estimates. The fuel consumption estimates based on the geostationary and polar orbiting instruments showed good agreement in terms of spatial patterns, but absolute fuel consumption estimates remained more uncertain. Fuel consumption varies considerably in space and time, complicating the comparison of various approaches and using field measurements to constrain our results. Spatial patterns in fuel consumption could be partly explained by vegetation productivity and fire return periods. In South America, most fires 25 occurred in savannas with relatively long fire return periods, resulting

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