Pixel-based long-term (2001–2020) estimations of forest fire emissions over the Himalaya
Pixel-based long-term (2001–2020) estimations of forest fire emissions over the Himalaya
Forest/wildfires have been one of the most notable severe catastrophes in recent decades across the globe, and their intensity is expected to rise with global warming. Forest fire contributes significantly to particulate and gaseous pollution in the atmosphere. This study has estimated the pixel-based emissions (CO, CO2, CH4, NOx, SO2, NH3, PM2.5, PM10, OC, and BC) from forest fires over the Himalaya (including India, Nepal, and Bhutan). The MODIS-based burned area (MCD64A1), Land Use Land Cover (LULC; MCD12A1), NDVI (MOD13A2), percentage tree cover (MOD44A6), gridded biomass, and species-wise emissions factors were used to estimate the monthly emissions from forest fires over the last two decades (2001–2020). A bottom-up approach was adopted to retrieve the emissions. A substantial inter-annual variation of forest burn area was found over the western, central (Nepal), and eastern Himalaya (including Bhutan). The eastern Himalaya exhibited the highest average annual CO2 emission, i.e., 20.37 Tg, followed by Nepal, 15.52 Tg, and the western Himalaya, 4.92 Tg. Spatially, the higher CO2 (0.01–0.02 Tg year−1/km2) and CO (0.007–0.002 Tg year−1/km2) emissions were detected along the south-eastern parts of the eastern Himalaya, southern regions of Nepal, and south-eastern parts of the western Himalaya. The trend of forest fire emissions in 2001–2010 was significantly positive, while in the next decade (2011–2020) a negative trend was recorded. The estimated pixel-based emission and Global Fire Emission Dataset (GFEDv4.1s) data demonstrated a promising association with a correlation coefficient (r) between 0.80 and 0.93. An inventory of forest fire emissions over long-term periods can be helpful for policymakers. In addition, it helps to set guidelines for air quality and atmospheric transport modelling and to better understand atmospheric pollution over the Himalayan and associated regions.
burn area, emissions, forest fire, Himalaya, MODIS, spatio-temporal variation
Bar, Somnath
1e199d14-4020-46ef-9dfa-733fe5fa6082
Parida, Bikash Ranjan
21c6f8e7-5d6c-4d46-86e3-4e7160b4d1b5
Pandey, Arvind Chandra
ab1750bd-2338-41d4-bb66-b4e083f221eb
Kumar, Navneet
39575d58-54de-4759-9005-00fe1b0ad598
1 November 2022
Bar, Somnath
1e199d14-4020-46ef-9dfa-733fe5fa6082
Parida, Bikash Ranjan
21c6f8e7-5d6c-4d46-86e3-4e7160b4d1b5
Pandey, Arvind Chandra
ab1750bd-2338-41d4-bb66-b4e083f221eb
Kumar, Navneet
39575d58-54de-4759-9005-00fe1b0ad598
Bar, Somnath, Parida, Bikash Ranjan, Pandey, Arvind Chandra and Kumar, Navneet
(2022)
Pixel-based long-term (2001–2020) estimations of forest fire emissions over the Himalaya.
Remote Sensing, 14 (21), [5302].
(doi:10.3390/rs14215302).
Abstract
Forest/wildfires have been one of the most notable severe catastrophes in recent decades across the globe, and their intensity is expected to rise with global warming. Forest fire contributes significantly to particulate and gaseous pollution in the atmosphere. This study has estimated the pixel-based emissions (CO, CO2, CH4, NOx, SO2, NH3, PM2.5, PM10, OC, and BC) from forest fires over the Himalaya (including India, Nepal, and Bhutan). The MODIS-based burned area (MCD64A1), Land Use Land Cover (LULC; MCD12A1), NDVI (MOD13A2), percentage tree cover (MOD44A6), gridded biomass, and species-wise emissions factors were used to estimate the monthly emissions from forest fires over the last two decades (2001–2020). A bottom-up approach was adopted to retrieve the emissions. A substantial inter-annual variation of forest burn area was found over the western, central (Nepal), and eastern Himalaya (including Bhutan). The eastern Himalaya exhibited the highest average annual CO2 emission, i.e., 20.37 Tg, followed by Nepal, 15.52 Tg, and the western Himalaya, 4.92 Tg. Spatially, the higher CO2 (0.01–0.02 Tg year−1/km2) and CO (0.007–0.002 Tg year−1/km2) emissions were detected along the south-eastern parts of the eastern Himalaya, southern regions of Nepal, and south-eastern parts of the western Himalaya. The trend of forest fire emissions in 2001–2010 was significantly positive, while in the next decade (2011–2020) a negative trend was recorded. The estimated pixel-based emission and Global Fire Emission Dataset (GFEDv4.1s) data demonstrated a promising association with a correlation coefficient (r) between 0.80 and 0.93. An inventory of forest fire emissions over long-term periods can be helpful for policymakers. In addition, it helps to set guidelines for air quality and atmospheric transport modelling and to better understand atmospheric pollution over the Himalayan and associated regions.
Text
Pixel-based_long_term_estimations
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 20 October 2022
Published date: 1 November 2022
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the University Grants Commission under the NET-JRF fellowship number [3289/(SC NET-JAN 2017)]. Additionally, this work was supported by the Open Access Publication Fund of the University of Bonn, Germany.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.
Keywords:
burn area, emissions, forest fire, Himalaya, MODIS, spatio-temporal variation
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 478399
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/478399
ISSN: 2072-4292
PURE UUID: 9664183d-f0cb-4b72-9688-df972432f500
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 29 Jun 2023 16:58
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:12
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Somnath Bar
Author:
Bikash Ranjan Parida
Author:
Arvind Chandra Pandey
Author:
Navneet Kumar
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics