Geospatial Assessment of Forest Fires in Jharkhand (India)

Abstract

Background: The forests in India and worldwide are threatened by many factors, one among them being the increasing frequency of forest fires. It damages the forest ecosystem and the environment thus altering the global climate. A proper monitoring and understanding of forest fires both spatially and temporally would assist in management of forest and help in protecting the biodiversity and wildlife habitat. Satellite remote sensing and GIS help in visualizing the extent and damage of forest fire at various scales and time periods. Objectives: To analyze the incidences of forest fires in Jharkhand state of India. Forest fire hotspot district were identified and analyzed. Methods/Statistical Analysis: The forest fire point data from the year 2005 to 2016 was analyzed in GIS domain for Jharkhand. The Landsat-8 data was utilized to obtain the forest cover of 2015 for Paschim Singhbhum district. The 2km*2km grid was generated to evaluate each grid with reference to forest fire incidence. Findings: Analysis of the datasets revealed that highest forest fire district of Jharkhand state is Paschim Singhbhum, it retain 30% of total forest fire whereas it contain approximately 17 % of the state forest cover. The study reveals very high frequency of forest fire grids in Paschim Singhbhum district falls in north-west of Pansuan dam of Porhat forest division. It provides a spatial view of forest fire occurrence, spread over duration of time which can be incorporated in management objectives to deal with the adverse effect of forest fire. Application/Improvements: Appropriate measures can focus on the particular very high to medium forest fire grid to minimize the effect of forest fire impact.