Global scale coupling of pyromes and fire regimes

Abstract

Different interpretations of the fire regime concept have limited the capacity to allocate specific fire regimes worldwide. To solve this limitation, in this study, we present a framework to frame contemporary fire regimes spatially on a global scale. We process historical wildfire records between 2000 and 2018 across the six continents. We uncover 15 global pyromes with clear differences in fire-related metrics, such as frequency and size. The pyromes were further divided into 62 regimes based on spatial aggregation patterns. This spatial framing of contemporary fire regimes allows for an interpretation of how a combination of driving factors such as vegetation, climate, and demographic features can result in a specific fire regime. To the best of our knowledge, this open source platform at unprecedented scale expands on existing classification efforts and bridges the gaps between global and regional fire studies.