RT journal article
T1 The 2010–2015 Megadrought and its influence on the fire regime in central and south-central Chile
A1 González, Mauro E.
A1 Gómez González, Susana
A1 Lara, Antonio
A1 Garreaud, René
A1 Díaz Hormazabal, Ignacio
A2 Biología
K1 drought
K1 fire regimes
K1 fire-prone vegetation
K1 fire-season length
AB Forest fire activity has increased in recent years in central and south-central Chile. Droughtconditions have been associated with the increase of large wildfires, area burned and longer fire seasons.This study examines the influence of drought on fire regimes and discusses landscape management opportunities to decrease fire hazard. Specifically, we investigate the effect of the 2010–2015 Megadrought (MD)compared to 1990–2009 period on fire activity (fire-season length, number of fires and burned area acrossmonths, fire sizes, regions and vegetation cover types, simultaneity, and duration of fires) in central andsouth-central Chile (32°–39° S), using contemporary fire statistics derived from the Chilean Forest Service.For large fire events (>200 ha) the average season length increased by 67 d (44%), comparing 2010–2015 to1990–2009. Earlier and later ignition dates resulted in extended fire seasons in MD years. During the MD,the number, area burned, simultaneity, and duration of large fires increased significantly compared to thecontrol period, including the unprecedented occurrence of large fires during winter. The burned area inlarge fires increased in all vegetation types, during the MD compared to the control period, especially inthe exotic plantation cover type. The regions that were most affected by fire (i.e., total area burned) duringthe MD were Maule, B ıo-B ıo, and Araucan ıa (35–39° S) that concentrate >75% of forest plantations in Chile.Although both maximum temperatures and precipitation are drivers of fire activity, a simple attributionanalysis indicates that the sustained rainfall deficit during 2010–2015 was the most critical factor in theenhanced fire activity. Future climate change predictions indicate more recurrent, intense, and temporallyextended droughts for central and south-central Chile. Under this scenario, land-use planning and fire andforest management strategies must promote a more diverse and less flammable landscape mosaic limitinghigh load, homogenous, and continuous exotic plantations.
PB Wiley-Blackwell
SN 2150-8925
YR 2018
FD 2018
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/32950
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/32950
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 12-nov-2026