Are wildfires in the wildland-urban interface increasing temperatures? A land surface temperature assessment in a semi-arid Mexican city

Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-297308
  • High rates of land conversion due to urbanization are causing fragmented and dispersed spatial patterns in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) worldwide. The occurrence of anthropogenic fires in the WUI represents an important environmental and social issue, threatening not only vegetated areas but also periurban inhabitants, as is the case in many Latin American cities. However, research has not focused on the dynamics of the local climate in the WUI. This study analyzes whether wildfires contribute to the increase in land surface temperatureHigh rates of land conversion due to urbanization are causing fragmented and dispersed spatial patterns in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) worldwide. The occurrence of anthropogenic fires in the WUI represents an important environmental and social issue, threatening not only vegetated areas but also periurban inhabitants, as is the case in many Latin American cities. However, research has not focused on the dynamics of the local climate in the WUI. This study analyzes whether wildfires contribute to the increase in land surface temperature (LST) in the WUI of the metropolitan area of the city of Guanajuato (MACG), a semi-arid Mexican city. We estimated the pre- and post-fire LST for 2018–2021. Spatial clusters of high LST were detected using hot spot analysis and examined using ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc statistical tests to assess whether LST is related to the spatial distribution of wildfires during our study period. Our results indicate that the areas where the wildfires occurred, and their surroundings, show higher LST. This has negative implications for the local ecosystem and human population, which lacks adequate infrastructure and services to cope with the effects of rising temperatures. This is the first study assessing the increase in LST caused by wildfires in a WUI zone in Mexico.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author: Mariana Ayala-Carrillo, Michelle Farfán, Anahí Cárdenas-Nielsen, Richard Lemoine-Rodríguez
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-297308
Document Type:Journal article
Faculties:Philosophische Fakultät (Histor., philolog., Kultur- und geograph. Wissensch.) / Neuphilologisches Institut - Moderne Fremdsprachen
Language:English
Parent Title (English):Land
ISSN:2073-445X
Year of Completion:2022
Volume:11
Issue:12
Article Number:2105
Source:Land (2022) 11:12, 2105. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11122105
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/land11122105
Dewey Decimal Classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 55 Geowissenschaften, Geologie / 550 Geowissenschaften
Tag:burned area; fire; grassland; periurban; urban climate
Release Date:2023/11/16
Date of first Publication:2022/11/22
Licence (German):License LogoCC BY: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung 4.0 International