CONTRIBUTION OF SATELLITE IMAGERY TO THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CLIMATE AND PYROLOGICAL VARIABLES OF BUSH FIRES IN THE SAVANNAH ZONE (case of the BOUNKANI REGION)

The present study was undertaken to characterize the bushfire regime and the climatic factors influencing its propagation in the Bounkani region. Thus, this work analyzes the spatio-temporal dynamics of fires and the relationship between climatic variables and pyrological variables. First, it exploits time series of active fires and burned areas from MODIS Active fires (MCD14ML) and MODIS Burned area (MCD60A1) data for the period from 2000 to 2017. The methodology is based on the evaluation of seasonality and fire occurrences, and on the spatio-temporal evolution of fires. The results obtained indicate that, on average, the fire season occurs between the months of November and March, generally corresponding to the dry season. Also, the number of fires and the area burned follow a decreasing trend during the 17 years of study. The months of December and January recorded the highest peaks of burned areas and fire outbreaks respectively. Finally, the analysis of the dependence between climatic variables and pyrological variables by the Pearson correlation method showed the influence of climatic parameters in the outbreak and spread of bushfires in the study area. Precipitation and relative humidity are the best predictors with a negative influence on fire activity, while the positive predictors remain temperature. These variables directly impact fire regime in general. The results of this study will assist policy makers and managers in decision making for the implementation of fire control strategies.