Fire influence on forest cover in the Caparaó microregion, state of Espírito Santo, Brazil

doi:10.3832/ifor4608-018

Fire influence on forest cover in the Caparaó microregion, state of Espírito Santo, Brazil

Denyse Cássia de Maria Sales , Gabrielli Machado Bindeli, Nívea Maria Mafra Rodrigues, Elaine Cordeiro dos Santos, Carem Cristina Araujo Valente, Joana Scheidegger Marinato, Thaís Arão Feletti

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, Volume 18, Issue 5, Pages 267-272 (2025)
doi: https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor4608-018
Published: Oct 14, 2025 - Copyright © 2025 SISEF

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Forests play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation, climate regulation, and the provision of essential ecosystem services. However, their resilience has been compromised by disturbances such as wildfires, which cause vegetation loss, habitat fragmentation, and disruptions of ecological cycles. Understanding the relationship between fire and forest cover is crucial for guiding conservation strategies, especially in biodiversity-rich regions like the Caparaó microregion in the state of Espírito Santo (Brazil). This study examined the impact of wildfires on forest cover between 2012 and 2021, integrating remote sensing data, meteorological information, and geoprocessing tools. The results indicated that approximately 43.92 km² were affected by fire, with 1.78% (0.78 km²) of the impacted areas covered by forests. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.837) was found between fire occurrence and forest cover loss, indicating that increased fire activity is associated with a reduction in forest area. A moderate positive correlation (r = 0.422) was observed between maximum temperature and burned area, which may indicate a trend of increasing fire risk as temperatures rise. It is important to note that the increase in forest cover observed during the study period primarily occurred in areas distinct from those affected by fire, suggesting natural regeneration or reforestation processes in other parts of the landscape. This scenario highlights the importance of public policies that prioritize continuous monitoring and fire prevention, especially given the projected increase in extreme climatic events, such as severe droughts, expected over the coming decades. The results of this study provide useful insights for land-use planning and the development of restoration and conservation strategies for the Atlantic Forest and similar ecosystems.

Keywords

Burn Analysis, Ecosystem Dynamics, Conservation Strategies, Remote Sensing, Atlantic Forest, Wildfire, Forest Degradation, Reforestation

Authors’ address

(1)

0000-0001-6182-0975
0000-0002-3159-4046
0000-0002-3750-0813
0000-0003-4502-6055
0000-0002-1718-1720

0000-0001-7637-1586
Department of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, rua Conceição Augusta de Souza 13, Jerônimo Monteiro (Brazil)

Corresponding author

Denyse Cássia de Maria Sales
denysecmariasales@gmail.com

Citation

Sales DCM, Bindeli GM, Rodrigues NMM, dos Santos EC, Valente CCA, Marinato JS, Feletti TA (2025). Fire influence on forest cover in the Caparaó microregion, state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. iForest 18: 267-272. - doi: 10.3832/ifor4608-018

Academic Editor

Davide Ascoli

Paper history

Received: Mar 22, 2024
Accepted: May 04, 2025

First online: Oct 14, 2025
Publication Date: Oct 31, 2025
Publication Time: 5.43 months

Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

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