Burned Areas Dynamics in Zonal Landscapes of the South-East of the European Part of Russia

The article presents the results of geoinformation mapping and analysis of wildfires in natural landscapes of Astrakhan and Volgograd oblasts and the Republic of Kalmykia for 1997–2020. On the basis of expert interpretation of Landsat satellite images with verification based on the detection data of active combustion and burnt-out areas, more than 13.5 thousand burns with a total area of over 150 thousand km2 were identified. The largest burned-out area was recorded in 2006—more than 18 thousand km2. In total, 62.5 thousand km2 were covered by fire in these regions, which is one-third of the natural zonal landscapes. Up to 90% of the number of fires is represented by incidents with an area of up to 10 km2, while half of the burnt area is provided by catastrophic fires with an area of more than 250 km2 each, which occur 2-3 times a year. The maximum frequency of fires was 14 cases during the study period. Analysis of the proximity of burned areas showed the presence of spatial patterns in their distribution. The sites with the highest frequency of fires are located in the Volgograd and Astrakhan Trans-Volga region with less agricultural development, as well as in the Chernye Zemli Nature Reserve and its environs, where livestock grazing is prohibited. The growth of livestock in Kalmykia and the right-bank part of the Astrakhan oblast, the involvement of deposits in circulation in Volgograd oblast in the last decade resulted in a decrease in the number and area of fires. In Volgograd oblast, a significant negative trend in the number of fires was noted, and in Kalmykia–in both the number and area. The obtained results, in addition to data on the dynamics of burnt areas, represent the possibility of determining the duration of pyrogenic successions, which will make it possible to study the patterns of changes in the state of landscapes after fires in different years, taking into account their frequency. Also, the results will help optimize fire prevention.

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