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Type: Journal Article
Author(s): C. M. Mulqueeny; P. S. Goodman; Timothy G. O'Connor
Publication Date: 2011

Fire is a key driver of savannas. It was predicted that the area of a summer-rainfall savanna burnt per annum should depend on the amount of fuel, which depends on variable grass production resulting from variable rainfall, 'carry-over' from the preceding season and attrition of fuel by herbivores. Most fires occur during the dry season, thus the amount of green growth resulting from occasional winter rainfall could influence fuel combustibility and therefore the area burnt. These predictions were examined with a 37-year (1963-99) data set for Mkuzi Game Reserve, South Africa. Total area burnt was related to wet season rainfall separately for years with a 'wet' dry season or a 'dry' dry season. Against prediction, the amount of dry-season rainfall had no influence on the total area burnt. For years with a 'dry' dry season, rainfall of the preceding wet season had an additional influence. Herbivore density had no influence. A dry-season burn was twice as large as a wet-season burn, and the largest burns were the most intense. Monitoring of wet season rainfall is sufficient for planning burning programs. Intense, large fires can be achieved for control of bush encroachment following 2 or more successive years of high rainfall.

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Citation: Mulqueeny, C.M.; Goodman, P.S.; O'Connor, Timothy G. 2011. Determinants of inter-annual variation in the area burnt in a semiarid African savanna. International Journal of Wildland Fire 20(4):532-539.

Cataloging Information

Topics:
Regions:
Keywords:
  • Africa
  • area burned
  • arid regions
  • biomass
  • ecosystem dynamics
  • fine fuels
  • fire
  • fire intensity
  • fire management
  • fire size
  • flammability
  • fuel loading
  • fuel management
  • fuel moisture
  • grasses
  • grassland
  • grazing
  • herbivory
  • mammals
  • population density
  • precipitation
  • pyric herbivory
  • rainfall
  • savannas
  • South Africa
  • statistical analysis
  • wet-dry season
  • wildfires
Tall Timbers Record Number: 25904Location Status: In-fileCall Number: Journals - IAbstract Status: Okay, Fair use, Reproduced by permission
Record Last Modified:
Record Maintained By: FRAMES Staff (https://www.frames.gov/contact)
FRAMES Record Number: 10530

This bibliographic record was either created or modified by Tall Timbers and is provided without charge to promote research and education in Fire Ecology. The E.V. Komarek Fire Ecology Database is the intellectual property of Tall Timbers.