Forest Fires and Climate Correlation in Mexico State: A Report Based on MODIS

Xanat Antonio¹, Edward Alan Ellis²

¹Autonomous University of Mexico State, Geography Faculty, Toluca, Mexico.
²Tropical Research Center (CITRO), Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, Mexico.

DOI: 10.4236/ars.2015.44023                

Abstract

Forest fires are one of the most important threats for forests in the State of Mexico. Therefore, understanding their geographical patterns is a priority for the design of forest management strategies. We processed the records obtained with the MOD14A2 product (for thermal anomalies and fire) of MODIS sensor. Such scenes correspond to dry seasons (from March 15 to June 30) from 2000 to 2012 in the State of Mexico. We analyzed such records in a GIS environment to learn their spatial patterns and establish their geographical correlations as a first step to understand the causal agents of forest fires. As a result, forest fires in the State of Mexico showed a clustered spatial trend with a southwest tendency and a slight spatial relation with total winter precipitation and maximal temperature in summer.

Keywords

Forest Fires, MODIS Product, State of Mexico, Spatial Patterns

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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