Depopulation of rural landscapes exacerbates fire activity in the western Amazon

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dc.creatorUriarte, Maria
dc.creatorDeFries, Ruth S.
dc.creatorFernandes, Kátia
dc.creatorGutiérrez Vélez, Victor Hugo
dc.creatorBaethgen, Walter E.
dc.creatorPadoch, Christine
dc.creatorPinedo Vasquez, Miguel
dc.date2012-12-26
dc.date2018-07-03T11:03:06Z
dc.date2018-07-03T11:03:06Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T14:04:17Z
dc.descriptionDestructive fires in Amazonia have occurred in the past decade, leading to forest degradation, carbon emissions, impaired air quality, and property damage. Here, we couple climate, geospatial, and province-level census data, with farmer surveys to examine the climatic, demographic, and land use factors associated with fire frequency in the Peruvian Amazon from 2000 to 2010. Although our results corroborate previous findings elsewhere that drought and proximity to roads increase fire frequency, the province-scale analysis further identifies decreases in rural populations as an additional factor. Farmer survey data suggest that increased burn scar frequency and size reflect increased flammability of emptying rural landscapes and reduced capacity to control fire. With rural populations projected to decline, more frequent drought, and expansion of road infrastructure, fire risk is likely to increase in western Amazonia. Damage from fire can be reduced through warning systems that target high-risk locations, coordinated fire fighting efforts, and initiatives that provide options for people to remain in rural landscapes.
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/95500
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/72951
dc.languageen
dc.publisherNational Academy of Sciences
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceUriarte, M.A, Pinedo-Vasquez, M., DeFries, R.S., Fernandes, K., Gutierrez-Velez, V.H., Baethgen, W.E., Padoch, C. . 2012. Depopulation of rural landscapes exacerbates fire activity in the western Amazon Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 109 (52) : 21546-21550. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1215567110
dc.subjectfires
dc.subjectforest fires
dc.subjectclimate
dc.subjectland use
dc.subjectdemography
dc.subjectdrought
dc.subjectrural population
dc.subjectlandscape
dc.titleDepopulation of rural landscapes exacerbates fire activity in the western Amazon
dc.typeJournal Article

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Centro para la Investigación Forestal Internacional (CIFOR)