Publications

Kouassi, JL; Wandan, N; Mbow, C (2022). Exploring spatio-temporal trends and environmental drivers of wildfire occurrence and impacts in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa. AFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, 60(4), 1218-1236.

Abstract
Wildfires are a significant threat to environmental, social, economic and agricultural systems. This study investigated the spatiotemporal trends in wildfire activity and its interactions with climate and environmental factors in Cote d'Ivoire through remotely sensed MODIS data associated with climate, biophysical and anthropogenic data. We analysed relationships between wildfire occurrence and climate drivers using cross-correlations, while Pearson chi-squared and Kruskal-Wallis tests were selected to identify linkages between qualitative and quantitative environmental data, respectively. Seasonal Kendall and Sen's slope approaches were applied for trend analysis. During the period 2001-2019, 8150 wildfires were recorded annually, burning 2.69 million hectares per year, representing about 8.34% of Cote d'Ivoire. Fire detections and burnt areas highlighted a downward trend in all ecoregions with a predominance in the Sudanian zone. Wildfire occurrence showed a significant and strongly negative link with relative humidity and visibility, as well as a significant and positive correlation with maximum temperature, thermal amplitude and vapour-pressure deficit. Also, the spatial distribution of wildfires was significantly conditioned by environmental factors. The findings of this study will help decision makers and managers to make decisions to reduce the vulnerability of local populations to current and future wildfire hazards.

DOI:
10.1111/aje.13066

ISSN:
1365-2028