Characterising vegetative biomass burning in China using MODIS data

For Chinese fire cases, it was established that the active fire data obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 1-km(2) spatial resolution and their subsequent analysis are more accurate and spatially precise than those obtained from the statistical fire data collected by the State Forestry Administration (SFA) of P. R. China. Most (37.5%) of the biomass burning detections from 2000 to 2011 were found in croplands, followed by broadleaf forests (21.2%). Three high-density fire regions were found during the 12-year study period: (1) Heilongjiang Province, where many large forest fires occurred in April-May and September-October; (2) Yunnan Province, where many small forest fires occurred in December-May and (3) Guangdong Province and Guangxi Autonomous Regions, where most fires occurred in croplands in November-March. The largest percentage (10.72%) of the total active fire points was in Heilongjiang Province during 2000-2011, followed by Yunnan Province (10.14%), with several fires taking place in February, April and June.