Forest-steppe fires as moving disasters in the Mongolia-Russian borderland

Abstract

ABSTRACT Forest-steppe fires (i.e., wildfires on grassland or forest) have serious impacts on ecosystems and economies in many countries. Many researchers, such as ecologists, meteorologists, geographers, and economists, have studied the causes and results of such wildfires from macro viewpoints. However, prior studies on the social impacts of disasters in Mongolia have mainly focused on zuds, which are harsh snow storms that occur regularly and affect the entire country. In contrast, forest-steppe fires have a limited range and are generally restricted to a certain part of the country, specifically the forest-steppe zone. This study describes the impact of fires and firefighting activities in Mongolia, focusing on the eastern borderland between Russia and China. The main case study was conducted in Eastern Mongolia bordering Russia; however, as forest-steppe fires are moving disasters, fires occasionally cross social boundaries and both domestic and international borders. Additionally, as fires move with the wind, some fires that impact Mongolia originate in Russia. We found a high contrast between damaged and non-damaged places in terms of the loss incurred as a result of the fire. Whether an area is affected depends not only on its distance from fires’ points of origin but also on fire path and speed, which are influenced by wind direction, geography, road network (which can operate as natural and human-made firebreak or fire blocker) and human efforts.