Keywords
burnt area
climatic indices
FWI – Fire Weather Index
fire hazard кількість випадків пожеж
площа пожежі
кліматичні показники
FWI – пожежний індекс погоди
пожежна небезпека
How to Cite
Abstract
Introduction
In recent decades, the frequency and area of forest fires have increased in different regions of the world, particularly in Ukrainian Polissia. The natural fire hazard is assessed by considering forest characteristics, the distribution of ignition sources, and weather variables. The Fire Weather Index (FWI) has been proposed to assess fire hazards in Canadian forests. FWI considers the initial spread index (ISI) and the build-up index (BUI), which consider the influence of the moisture of combustible materials upon the fire behavior at the current temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, rainfall, etc.
The aim of the research was to identify the features of the flammability in forests of Volyn, Zhytomyr, and Rivne regions, and to evaluate the relations between the number of fires and the burnt area with climatic indices, particularly FWI.
Materials and Methods
The materials of the statistical reporting of the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine on the number of fires and burnt areas in the forest fund of Zhytomyr, Volyn, and Rivne regions were used. In each region, the absolute flammability was evaluated as the average annual number of fire incidents per 1,000 ha of forested areas and per 1,000 ha of pine stands. The relative flammability was evaluated by the average annual fire area in hectares per 1,000 ha of forested areas and per 1,000 ha of pine stands. Air temperature and precipitation indices for individual months were obtained from the weather stations in Zhytomyr, Rivne, and Lutsk for 2007–2020 in the databases https://climatecharts.net/. Based on these data, the average values of temperature and precipitation for the year and the growing season as well as the hydrothermal coefficient according to G.T. Selyaninov were evaluated. The FWI value was obtained in the GSFC DAAC global network for the coordinates of meteorological stations in each administrative region and averaged over months and years. The dependence of a number of fire incidents and burnt areas on weather indices was assessed using the Spearman criterion.
Results and Conclusions
It was found that the average annual number of fires in 2007–2020 was 21.5 ± 8.68; 29.1 ± 6.34 and 99.2 ± 35.96 cases in the forest fund of Volyn, Rivne, and Zhytomyr Regional Forest and Hunting Management Administrations (RFHMA), respectively. The average fire area was the smallest in the forest fund of the Volyn RFHMA (26.4 ha), and the largest one was found in the forest fund of the Zhytomyr RFHMA (3,214.6 ha). Fire peaks were observed in 2009, 2015, and 2020. These years had the highest number of fires and burnt areas (99.2 cases and 3,214.6 ha, respectively). The maximum FWI values in Lutsk and Rivne were noted in 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2019, and in Zhytomyr in 2015 and 2020. In all regions, FWI had increased by 2022. The most significant negative relationship was found between the burnt area and indices associated with moisture deficit (precipitation, hydrothermal coefficient, and FWI).
3 Figs., 4 Tables, 29 Refs.
References
Abatzoglou, J. T. and Williams, A. P. 2016. Impact of anthropogenic climate change on wildfire across western US forests. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 113: 11770–11775. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1607171113
Andreieva, O. Y., Zhytovа, O. P., Martynchuk, I. V. 2018. Health condition and colonization of stem insects in Scots pine after ground fire in Central Polissya. Folia Forestalia Polonica. Series A – Forestry, 60(3):
–153. https://doi.org/10.2478/ffp-2018-0014
Andreieva, O. and Goychuk, A. 2020. Forest site conditions and the threat for insect outbreaks in the Scots pine stands of Polissya. Folia Forestalia Polonica, 62 (4): 270–278. https://doi.org/10.2478/ffp-2020-0026
Andreieva O., Borysenko O., Martynchuk I. 2022a. Revising fire hazard rating methods for forest stands in Ukraine on the example of Ovruch Specialized Forest Enterprise. Forestry ideas, 28, 1(63): 3–13.
Andreieva, O., Skydan, O., W?jcik, R., K?dziora, W., Alpatova, O. 2022b. Influence of weather conditions on the spread of fires in the forest fund of Zhytomyr Polesia. Scientific Horizons, 25(3): 68–75. https://doi.org/10.48077/scihor.25(3).2022.68-75
Atramentova, L. O. and Utievska, O. M. 2007. Group comparison and relations analysis: Biometrics. Chapter II. Kharkiv, Ranok, 176 p. (in Ukrainian).
Balabukh, V. O. 2019. Pyrological-climatic zoning of Ukraine. Hydrology, Hydrochemistry and Hydroecology, 3(54): 105–106 (in Ukrainian).
Boer, M. M., Resco de Dios, V., Bradstock, R. A. 2020. Unprecedented burn area of Australian mega forest fires. Nature Climate Change, 10: 171–172. http://doi:10.1038/s41558-020-0716-1
Borysenko, O. I. and Meshkova, V. L. 2021. Prediction of fires and insect pests foci spread in the pine stands by means of GIS. Kharkiv, Planeta-Print, 148 p. (in Ukrainian).
Chornogor, L. F., Nekos, A. N., Titenko, G. V., Chornogor, L. L. 2021. Ecological consequences of large-scale forest fires in Ukraine in spring ? summer ? autumn 2020. Bulletin of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University series “Ecology”, 24: 79–90 (in Ukrainian). https://doi.org/10.26565/1992-4259-2021-24-07
Davydenko, K., Vasaitis, R., Elfstrand, M., Baturkin, D., Meshkova, V., Menkis, A. 2021. Fungal communities vectored by Ips sexdentatus in declining Pinus sylvestris in Ukraine: focus on occurrence and pathogenicity of Ophiostomatoid species. Insects, 12: 1119. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12121119
European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). 2023. [Electronic resource]. Available at: https://effis.rc.ec.europa.eu/ (accessed 13.03.2023).
Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). 2015, inst3_3d_asm_Cp: MERRA-2 3D IAU State, Meteorology Instantaneous 3-hourly (p-coord, 0.625x0.5L42), version 5.12.4, Greenbelt, MD, USA: Goddard Space Flight Center Distributed Active Archive Center (GSFC DAAC), Accessed Enter User Data Access Date at doi: 10.5067/VJAFPLI1CSIV (accessed 13.03.2023).
Hurzhii, R. V., Yavorovskyi, P. P., Sydorenko, S. Н., Levchenko, V. B., Tyshchenko, O. M., Tertyshnyi, A. P., Yakubenko, B. Y. 2021. Trends in forest fuel accumulation in pine forests of Kyiv Polissya in Ukraine. Folia Forestalia Polonica, 63(2): 116–124. https://doi.org/10.2478/ffp-2021-0013
Jain, P., Castellanos-Acuna, D., Coogan, S. C., Abatzoglou, J. T., Flannigan, M. D. 2022. Observed increases in extreme fire weather driven by atmospheric humidity and temperature. Nature Climate Change, 12(1): 63–70. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01224-1
Meshkova, V. 2021a. Assessment and prediction of biotic risks in the forests of Ukraine. Bucovina Forestier?, 21(1), 83–92. https://doi.org/10.4316/bf.2021.007
Meshkova, V. 2021b. The lessons of Scots Pine forest decline in Ukraine. Environmental Sciences Proceedings, 3(1): article number 28. https://doi.org/10.3390/IECF2020-07990
Selyaninov, G. T. 1937. Methods of climate description to agricultural purposes. In: World Climate and Agriculture Handbook. Leningrad, Moscow, p. 5–29 (in Russian).
Shvydenko, A. Z., Buksha, I. F., Krakowska, S. V. 2018. Vulnerability of Ukraine’s forests to climate change. Kyiv, Nika-Center, 184 p. (in Ukrainian).
Soshenskyi, O., Myroniuk, V., Zibtsev, S., Gumeniuk, V., Lashchenko, A. 2022. Evaluation of field-based burn indices for assessing forest fire severity in Luhansk region, Ukraine. Ukrainian Journal of Forest and Wood Science, 13(1): 48–57. https://doi.org/10.31548/forest.13(1).2022.48-57
Stocks, B. J., Lawson, B. D., Alexander, M. E., Wagner, C. V., McAlpine, R. S., Lynham, T. J., Dube, D. E. 1989. The Canadian forest fire danger rating system: an overview. The Forestry Chronicle, 65(6): 450–457.
Sydorenko, S. 2022. Fire danger rating system for open landscapes of Ukraine. In: Forests in the face of contemporary challenges. Proceedings of International Scientific and Practical Conference of Young Scientists, Postgraduates, and External Doctorate Students (20 October 2022, Kharkiv, Ukraine). Kharkiv, p. 69–70 (in Ukrainian).
Sydorenko, S., Voron, V., Koval, I., Sydorenko, S., Rumiantsev, M., Hurzhii, R. 2021. Postfire tree mortality and fire resistance patterns in pine forests of Ukraine. Lesnicky Casopis, 67(1): 21–29. https://doi.org/10.2478/forj-2020-0029
Vinogradsky, O. 2023. The forests of Europe are burning. [Electronic resource]. Nature and Society [Newspaper]. Dated 28.04.2023. Available at: https://ekoinform.com.ua/?p=17692 (accessed 18.05.2023) (in Ukrainian).
Voron, V. P., Koval, I. M., Sydorenko, S. G., Melnyk, E. E., Tkach, O. M., Borisenko, V. G., Timoshchuk, I. V., Bologov, O. Yu. 2021. Pyrogenic transformation of Ukrainian pine forests. Kharkiv, Planeta-Print. 286 p. (in Ukrainian).
Zacharakis, I. and Tsihrintzis, V.A. 2023. Environmental forest fire danger rating systems and indices around the globe: A Review. Land, 12: 194. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/land12010194
Zepner, L.; Karrasch, P.; Wiemann, F.; Bernard, L. 2020. ClimateCharts.net–an interactive climate analysis web platform, International Journal of Digital Earth, 14(3): 338–356. https://doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2020.1829112 Available at: https://climatecharts.net (accessed 13.03.2023).
Zibtsev, S. V., Myronyuk, V. V., Soshensky, O. M., Koren, M. S., Koren, V. A. 2019a. Spatio-temporal distribution of fires in natural landscapes of Rivne region. Scientific Bulletin of UNFU, 29(6): 18–23 (in Ukrainian). https://doi.org/10.15421/40290603
Zibtsev, S. V., Soshensky, O. M., Humeniuk, V. V., Koren, V. A. 2019b. Dynamics of forest fires in Ukraine. Ukrainian Journal of Forest and Wood Science, 10(3): 27–40. (in Ukrainian). http://dx.doi.org/10.31548/forest2019.03.027
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.