Original Research

Fire regime of the Kruger National Park for the period 1980 -1992

W.S.W. Trollope
Koedoe | Vol 36, No 2 | a373 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v36i2.373 | © 1993 National Parks Board
Submitted: 17 September 1993 | Published: 17 September 1993

About the author(s)

W.S.W. Trollope, University Fort Hare, South Africa

Full Text:

PDF (3MB)

Abstract

Fire regime refers to the type and intensity of fire and the season and frequency of burning. In the Kruger National Park it varies according to the source of ignition of the fires. Since 1985 the different ignition sources have been controlled bums (47), refugees (23), others (20) and lightning (10). The data showed that anthropogenic fires were the most common fires and evidence on a global scale would suggest that the status quo will be maintained even if controlled burning is discontinued as is currently being considered by the National Parks Board. The most common type of fires that occur in the park are surface head fires burning with the wind but back fires and crown fires do also occur. The intensity of the fires is primarily a function of the grass fuel load which is dependent on the rainfall and consequently varies enormously from year to year. The type of fire also influences the intensity and research conducted during 1992 showed that head fires burning under similar environmental conditions were on average 36 times more intense than back fires. Anthropogenic fires generally occurred during the dry, dormant, winter period while lightning fires were more associated with the spring and summer period when dry lightning storms occur. The frequency of burning varied significantly between sourveld and sweetveld. The mean frequency of burning in sourveld areas was triennial and in the sweetveld areas octennial. Finally the general conclusion that can be drawn about the fire regime of the Kruger National Park is that it is highly variable and will continue to be so in the future. This is a very positive feature that ensures a wide diversity of habitat types.

Keywords

fire regime, burning, type, intensity, season, frequency. South Africa.

Metrics

Total abstract views: 6228
Total article views: 4201

 

Crossref Citations

1. The quantity of biomass burned in southern Africa
R. J. Scholes, J. Kendall, C. O. Justice
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres  vol: 101  issue: D19  first page: 23667  year: 1996  
doi: 10.1029/96JD01623

2. Reconstruction of environmental and climate changes at Braamhoek wetland, eastern escarpment South Africa, during the last 16,000 years with emphasis on the Pleistocene–Holocene transition
E. Norström, L. Scott, T.C. Partridge, J. Risberg, K. Holmgren
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology  vol: 271  issue: 3-4  first page: 240  year: 2009  
doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2008.10.018

3. Response of Acacia Sieberiana to Repeated Experimental Burning
Daniel Aleper, Kåre A. Lye, Stein R. Moe
Rangeland Ecology & Management  vol: 61  issue: 2  first page: 182  year: 2008  
doi: 10.2111/06-179.1

4. Decline of the mountain acacia, Brachystegia glaucescens in Gonarezhou National Park, southeast Zimbabwe
Clifford Tafangenyasha
Journal of Environmental Management  vol: 63  issue: 1  first page: 37  year: 2001  
doi: 10.1006/jema.2001.0458

5. Evaluating satellite and climate data-derived indices as fire risk indicators in savanna ecosystems
J. Verbesselt, P. Jonsson, S. Lhermitte, J. van Aardt, P. Coppin
IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing  vol: 44  issue: 6  first page: 1622  year: 2006  
doi: 10.1109/TGRS.2005.862262

6. Assessing the effect of management changes and environmental features on the spatio- temporal pattern of fire in an African Savanna
Fabio Attorre, Navashni Govender, Anna Hausmann, Alessio Farcomeni, Alfredo Guillet, Edoardo Scepi, Izak P.J. Smit, Marcello Vitale
Journal for Nature Conservation  vol: 28  first page: 1  year: 2015  
doi: 10.1016/j.jnc.2015.07.001

7. Fuel biomass and combustion factors associated with fires in savanna ecosystems of South Africa and Zambia
Ronald W. Shea, Barbara W. Shea, J. Boone Kauffman, Darold E. Ward, Craig I. Haskins, Mary C. Scholes
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres  vol: 101  issue: D19  first page: 23551  year: 1996  
doi: 10.1029/95JD02047

8. Changes in woody plant composition of three vegetation types exposed to a similar fire regime for over 46 years
Grace Nangendo, Alfred Stein, Hans ter Steege, Frans Bongers
Forest Ecology and Management  vol: 217  issue: 2-3  first page: 351  year: 2005  
doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2005.07.007

9. SPECIAL SECTION: LAND USE OPTIONS IN DRY TROPICAL WOODLAND ECOSYSTEMS IN ZIMBABWE
J Gambiza, W Bond, P.G.H Frost, S Higgins
Ecological Economics  vol: 33  issue: 3  first page: 353  year: 2000  
doi: 10.1016/S0921-8009(00)00145-2

10. On the problem of natural savanna fires
Paul Laris, Rebecca Jacobs
New Phytologist  vol: 231  issue: 1  first page: 11  year: 2021  
doi: 10.1111/nph.17138

11. A MODEL‐FRAMED EVALUATION OF ELEPHANT EFFECTS ON TREE AND FIRE DYNAMICS IN AFRICAN SAVANNAS
Peter W. J. Baxter, Wayne M. Getz
Ecological Applications  vol: 15  issue: 4  first page: 1331  year: 2005  
doi: 10.1890/02-5382

12. Characterization of the July 2007 Swaziland fire disaster using satellite remote sensing and GIS
Wisdom M. Dlamini
Applied Geography  vol: 29  issue: 3  first page: 299  year: 2009  
doi: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2008.10.007

13. A historical perspective on fire research in East and Southern African grasslands and savannas
Simon Pooley
African Journal of Range & Forage Science  vol: 39  issue: 1  first page: 1  year: 2022  
doi: 10.2989/10220119.2022.2028187

14. Monitoring herbaceous biomass and water content with SPOT VEGETATION time-series to improve fire risk assessment in savanna ecosystems
J. Verbesselt, B. Somers, J. van Aardt, I. Jonckheere, P. Coppin
Remote Sensing of Environment  vol: 101  issue: 3  first page: 399  year: 2006  
doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2006.01.005