Bengaluru: Wildfires are increasing in the Eastern Ghats but declining sharply in the Western Ghats, highlighting contrasting fire patterns across southern India’s forests amid growing climate pressures and drought, a 21-year study has found.Titled Changing fire regimes in wildlife reserves of southern India: Trends, drivers, and conservation challenges, the study, published in the journal Ecosphere, analysed satellite data from 13 wildlife reserves across Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats and parts of Central India from 2002.Led by conservation scientist Dr Narendran Kodandapani of Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bengaluru, and co-authored by the centre’s CEO, Dr Krithi K Karanth, the study used Nasa’s moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to track burnt areas across nearly 200,000sqkm of protected landscapes.About 16,667sqkm burned during the 21-year period, with some areas experiencing repeated fires. Eastern Ghats accounted for 59% of the total burnt area, followed by Central India at 16.6% and Western Ghats at 8.4%.Annual burnt area increased by 9.3% in Eastern Ghats and 4.6% in Central India. In contrast, Western Ghats recorded a statistically significant annual decline of 10.8%. Researchers said these divergent trends were obscured in earlier estimates that treated the regions as a single landscape.Climate and human-related factors together explained an average of 44% of the variation in fire activity across the 13 reserves, with the proportion ranging from 21% to 77% across individual reserves.Drought emerged as a key driver, with climatic water deficit, soil moisture, temperature and other indicators of dryness showing varying associations with burnt areas across all reserves.Human activities also influenced fire patterns, though their effects varied by location. In Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary, population density was strongly associated with fire activity. Communities use fire to facilitate the collection of forest products such as mahua flowers and tendu leaves and to improve grazing conditions. Population density was also positively associated with fire activity in Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve.But in Karnataka’s Nagarahole National Park, higher population density was associated with less burning. Researchers attributed this partly to land-use changes and active fire suppression by the state forest department.Nearly 85% of the burnt area across the reserves occurred between Jan and March, underscoring the need for greater preparedness during the peak fire season.The researchers cautioned against blanket fire suppression, noting fires are not inherently harmful to forest ecosystems. While excessive burning can threaten biodiversity, completely excluding fire can also alter vegetation structure, ecosystem diversity and ecological processes in certain landscapes.The study called for region-specific fire management strategies that account for climatic conditions, species’ fire resilience, habitat characteristics and traditional burning practices among communities living along forest fringes.It also stressed the need for early-warning systems, better preparedness among forest departments and local communities, and long-term research to understand how climate change could reshape wildfire patterns.
