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Background <p>Globally, there are growing demands for evidence-based policies to manage wildfires. Currently, fire management in Northern Ghana relies on policies and projects developed without a comprehensive understanding of fire trends and drivers. This study analyzed spatiotemporal trends in burned areas (500&#xa0;m MODIS and 30&#xa0;m Landsat products), active fires, and fire seasonality using linear regression analysis to investigate shifts in fire regimes between 2000 and 2022. Biophysical and social drivers of the observed trends were also examined.</p> Results <p>When averaged across Northern Ghana, MODIS burned area data (large fires) revealed a significant decreasing trend, while Landsat burned area (sensitive to large and small fires) and active fires showed no significant trend. When disaggregated by region, MODIS burned area showed significant decreasing trends for the Savannah Region, Upper East and Upper West Regions. Conversely, Landsat burned area showed no trend in all regions of Northern Ghana. Active fires increased significantly in the Northern Region. Active fire data also revealed a shift in fire seasonality in Northern Ghana towards more mid-dry season fires. Institutional perspectives attributed the decline in large fires (as identified by MODIS) to the success of interventions aimed at reducing uncontrolled burning (locally referred to as bushfires), while persistent burning (as indicated by Landsat burned area and MODIS active fires) was linked to livelihoods dependent on burning. LULC analysis showed increases in agricultural and built-up areas, consistent with cropland expansion associated with fire-dependent land clearing. The study also identified important limitations associated with the existing fire products that obscured accurate fire detection.</p> Conclusion <p>Our results highlight the importance of scale, resolution, and sensor characteristics in interpreting fire regimes. Aggregating data across the whole of Northern Ghana obscured contrasting trends in individual regions. The different trends observed between MODIS and Landsat burned areas suggest that changes in fire activities are occurring unevenly across spatiotemporal scales. Additionally, shifts towards mid-dry season burning suggest misalignment between current early burning policies and actual fire dynamics in Northern Ghana. Effective and sustainable fire management will therefore require integrating local perspectives, recognizing the ecological role of fires in savannas, and adopting monitoring approaches tailored to different fire types.</p>

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Diverging fire trends in Northern Ghana’s savanna landscape: insights from remote sensing and institutional perspectives

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月25日

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  • Rahinatu Sidiki Alare,
  • Emma Tebbs,
  • Kate Schreckenberg

摘要

Background

Globally, there are growing demands for evidence-based policies to manage wildfires. Currently, fire management in Northern Ghana relies on policies and projects developed without a comprehensive understanding of fire trends and drivers. This study analyzed spatiotemporal trends in burned areas (500 m MODIS and 30 m Landsat products), active fires, and fire seasonality using linear regression analysis to investigate shifts in fire regimes between 2000 and 2022. Biophysical and social drivers of the observed trends were also examined.

Results

When averaged across Northern Ghana, MODIS burned area data (large fires) revealed a significant decreasing trend, while Landsat burned area (sensitive to large and small fires) and active fires showed no significant trend. When disaggregated by region, MODIS burned area showed significant decreasing trends for the Savannah Region, Upper East and Upper West Regions. Conversely, Landsat burned area showed no trend in all regions of Northern Ghana. Active fires increased significantly in the Northern Region. Active fire data also revealed a shift in fire seasonality in Northern Ghana towards more mid-dry season fires. Institutional perspectives attributed the decline in large fires (as identified by MODIS) to the success of interventions aimed at reducing uncontrolled burning (locally referred to as bushfires), while persistent burning (as indicated by Landsat burned area and MODIS active fires) was linked to livelihoods dependent on burning. LULC analysis showed increases in agricultural and built-up areas, consistent with cropland expansion associated with fire-dependent land clearing. The study also identified important limitations associated with the existing fire products that obscured accurate fire detection.

Conclusion

Our results highlight the importance of scale, resolution, and sensor characteristics in interpreting fire regimes. Aggregating data across the whole of Northern Ghana obscured contrasting trends in individual regions. The different trends observed between MODIS and Landsat burned areas suggest that changes in fire activities are occurring unevenly across spatiotemporal scales. Additionally, shifts towards mid-dry season burning suggest misalignment between current early burning policies and actual fire dynamics in Northern Ghana. Effective and sustainable fire management will therefore require integrating local perspectives, recognizing the ecological role of fires in savannas, and adopting monitoring approaches tailored to different fire types.