INFLUENCE OF THE METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS ON FOREST FIRES OCCURRENCES IN LICHINGA DISTRICT, NORTHERN MOZAMBIQUE

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of meteorological conditions on the fire occurrences in forest stands of Lichinga district, in the period from 2010 to 2012. Data about fire occurrences records of the district of Lichinga and two others close districts (Lago and Sanga) were provided by the Center for Monitoring and Control of Forest Fires (CCMIF) of the company Chikweti. Daily weather data: temperature, rainfall and relative humidity of the same period, recorded at 13:00 PM, by the meteorological station of the Institute of Agronomic Research of Mozambique (IIAM) in Lichinga district were also provided to this work. Meteorological data were submitted to regression analysis and Tukey test. The results showed a significant variation in temperature and humidity on both tests. The overlapping of fire occurrences and meteorological variables, suggested a great influence of the meteorological conditions in the occurrence of fires, mainly due to the very long dry periods. In 2010 there was a delay in the occurrence of fires; this was related to the rainy season which was slightly longer. September and October was the months that recorded the highest number of fire occurrences throughout the studied period. Resumo Influencia das condicoes meteorologicas na ocorrencia dos incendios florestais no distrito de Lichinga, norte de Mocambique. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a influencia das variaveis meteorologicas na ocorrencia de incendios em povoamentos florestais no distrito de Lichinga, no periodo de 2010 a 2012. Para tal, foram analisados os registros de ocorrencias de incendios do distrito de Lichinga e de outros dois distritos vizinhos (Lago e Sanga), disponibilizados pelo Centro de Controle e Monitoramento de Incendios Florestais (CCMIF) da empresa Chikweti Forest of Niassa, e dados meteorologicos diarios de temperatura (maxima e minima), precipitacao e umidade relativa, do mesmo periodo, registrados as 13 horas, pela estacao meteorologica do Instituto de Investigacao Agronomica de Mocambique em Lichinga (IIAM-Lichinga). Os dados meteorologicos foram submetidos ao teste de analise de regressao e ao teste de Tukey, tendo sido observado uma variacao significativa da temperatura e umidade em ambos os testes. A sobreposicao das ocorrencias dos incendios com as variaveis meteorologicas demostrou uma grande influenca dessas variaveis na ocorrencia dos incendios, principalmente devido aos periodos secos prolongados. No ano 2010 observou-se um atraso na ocorrencia dos incendios, devido ao periodo chuvoso que foi ligeiramente mais longo. Os meses que registraram maior numero de ocorrencias em todo o periodo foram setembro e outubro. Palavras-chave : Povoamentos florestais; variaveis meteorologicas; prevencao de incendios florestais.