Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Increased damage from fires in logged forests during droughts caused by El Niño

Nature volume 414, pages 437–440 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

In 1997–98, fires associated with an exceptional drought caused by the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) devastated large areas of tropical rain forests worldwide. Evidence suggests that in tropical rainforest environments selective logging may lead to an increased susceptibility of forests to fire1,2,3,4. We investigated whether this was true in the Indonesian fires, the largest fire disaster ever observed5,6. We performed a multiscale analysis using coarse- and high-resolution optical and radar satellite imagery assisted by ground and aerial surveys to assess the extent of the fire-damaged area and the effect on vegetation in East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. A total of 5.2 ± 0.3 million hectares including 2.6 million hectares of forest was burned with varying degrees of damage. Forest fires primarily affected recently logged forests; primary forests or those logged long ago were less affected. These results support the hypothesis of positive feedback between logging and fire occurrence4. The fires severely damaged the remaining forests and significantly increased the risk of recurrent fire disasters by leaving huge amounts of dead flammable wood.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Fire occurrence and fire impact in 1997/98 in East Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia.
Figure 2: ERS SAR-derived fire damage for different land cover, derived from TM as a percentage of the total area of each land cover.
Figure 3: Fire impact measured as volume of living and dead trees in burned areas logged at different times in the past.
Figure 4: Fire impact within 1,000 m of logging roads.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Nepstad, D. C. et al. Large-scale impoverishment of Amazonian forests by logging and fire. Nature 398, 505–508 (1999).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Uhl, C. & Buschbacher, R. A disturbing synergism between cattle ranch burning practices and selective tree harvesting in the eastern Amazon. Biotropica 17, 265–268 (1985).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Goldammer, J. G., Seiber, B. & Schindele, W. in Dipterocarp Forest Ecosystems: Towards Sustainable Management (eds Schulte, A. & Schöne, D.) 155–185 (World Scientific, Singapore, 1996).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  4. Cochrane, M. et al. Positive feedbacks in the fire dynamics of closed canopy tropical forests. Science 284, 1832–1835 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. ADB (Asian Development Bank)/BAPPENAS (National Development Planning Agency). Causes, Extent, Impact and Costs of 1997/98 Fires and Drought. Final Report, Annex 1 and 2. Planning for Fire Prevention and Drought Management Project (Asian Development Bank TA 2999-INO Fortech, Pusat Pengembangan Agribisnis, Margueles Pöyry, Jakarta, Indonesia, 1999).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Barber, C. V. & Schweithelm, J. Trial by Fire 5–10 (World Resources Institute, 2000).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Brookfield, H., Potter, L. & Byron, Y. in Place of the Forest: Environmental and Socio-Economic Transformation in Borneo and the Easter Malay Peninsula 158–178 (United Nations Univ. Press, Tokyo, 1995).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Forestry Statistic 1998/98 (Statistik Kehutanan) 27–28 (Provincial Forestry Department of East Kalimanton (Kantor Wilayah Kehutanan dan Perkebunan Propinisi Kalimantan Timur), Samarinda, Indonesia, 1999).

  9. Colfer, C., Dennis, R. A. & Applegate, G. The Underlying Causes and Impacts of Fires in South East Asia. Site Report 8. Long Segar, East Kalimantan Province, Indonesia, 1–88 (Center for Internal Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia, 2000).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Siegert, F. & Hoffmann, A. A. The 1998 Forest Fires in East-Kalimantan (Indonesia): A quantitative evaluation using high resolution, multitemporal ERS-2 SAR Images and NOAA-AVHRR hot spot data. Remote Sens. Environ. 72, 64–77 (2000).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Goldammer, J. G. (ed.) Fire in the Tropical Biota. Ecosystem Processes and Global Challenges Ecological Studies Vol. 84, 11–28 (Springer, Berlin, 1990).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Kauffmann, J. B., Uhl, C. & Cummings, D. L. Fires in the Venezuelan Amazon 1: Fuel biomass and fire chemistry in the evergreen rainforest of Venezuela. Oikos 53, 167–175 (1988).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Cochrane, M. A. & Schulze, M. D. Fires as a recurrent event in tropical forests of the Eastern Amazon: Effects on forest structure, biomass, and species composition. Biotropica 31, 2–16 (1999).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Malingreau, J. P., Stephens, G. & Fellows, L. Remote sensing of forest fires: Kalimantan and North Borneo in 1982–83. Ambio 14, 314–321 (1985).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Leighton, M. & Wirawan, N. in Tropical Rain Forests and the World Atmosphere (ed. Prance, G. T.) 75–102 (AAAS Selected Symposium 101 Westview, Boulder, 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Siegert, F. & Rücker, G. Use of multitemporal ERS-2 SAR images for identification of burned scars in south-east Asian tropical rain forest. Int. J. Remote Sens. 21, 831–837 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Ulaby, F. T., Moore, R. K. & Fung, A. K. in Microwave Remote Sensing: Active and Passive Vol III From Theory to Applications 1811–1830 (Artech House, Dedham, 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Solichin, S. H., Hinrichs, A., Soenoko, H. & Soemantri, H. Burnt Forest Inventory Sustainable Forest Management Project, SFMP Doc. No. 7b, 8–34 (Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit—Sustainable Forest Management Project, Samarinda, Indonesia, 1999).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Holdsworth, A. R. & Uhl, C. Fire in Amazonian selectively logged rain forest and the potential for fire reduction. Ecol. Appl. 7, 713–725 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Goldammer, J. G. Forest on fire. Science 284, 1782–1783 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Jepson, P., Jarvie, J. K., MacKinnon, K. & Monk, K. A. The end for Indonesia's lowland rainforests? Science 292, 859–861 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Siegert, F. & Kuntz, S. Monitoring of deforestation and land use in Indonesia with multitemporal ERS data. Int. J. Remote Sens. 20(12), 2835–2853 (1999).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Development and Cooperation and supported by the Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops, the European Space Agency (ERS European Remote Sensing Satellite 3.ERS Announcement of Opportunities), the Joint Research Centre (Space Applications Institute) and the Global Fire Monitoring Centre (Max Planck Institute for Chemistry). We gratefully acknowledge helpful comments by C. N. David and P. T. L. Ganeca for co-operating with ground survey data collection and all staff members of the participating institutions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilians University, Luisenstrasse 14, München, 80333, Germany

    F. Siegert

  2. Remote Sensing Solutions GmbH, Wörthstrasse 49, München, 81667, Germany

    F. Siegert

  3. ZEBRIS GIS and Consulting, Lipowskystrasse 26, München, 81373, Germany

    G. Ruecker

  4. Sustainable Forest Management Project (SFMP-GTZ-MoFEC), PO Box 1087, Samarinda, 75123, Kalimantan Timur, Indonesia

    A. Hinrichs

  5. Integrated Forest Fire Management Project IFFM/GTZ, Pekantoran Dinas Kehutanan, Jln. Harmonika, Samarinda, 75001, Kalimantan Timur, Indonesia

    A. A. Hoffmann

Authors
  1. F. Siegert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. G. Ruecker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. A. Hinrichs
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. A. A. Hoffmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to F. Siegert.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Siegert, F., Ruecker, G., Hinrichs, A. et al. Increased damage from fires in logged forests during droughts caused by El Niño. Nature 414, 437–440 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35106547

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35106547

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing