Case Study #3: Monitoring Recent Fires in Biological Corridors in Central Belize
Question: What is the current state of the Central Belize Biological Corridor?
Solution: Use fires as a measurement of agricultural encroachment on the corridor.
Time: 10 minutes
Method: Select these Layers from the Map Explorer:
- Fires (April 2005)
- Protected Areas
- Biological Corridors (Proposed)
- Roads
- Agricultural Use
- Ecosystems
Images: See the figure below.
Results: When examining the area where the Cayo, Belize and Stann Creek districts meet, it was observed that in April 2005, major fires were present within the Sibun and Manatee Forest Reserves and one fire was visible in southern tip of the Rio Bravo C&MA in the Orange Walk district. When overlayed with the most recent Ecosystems layer, it shows that all of these fires took place in or at the edge of savanna ecosystems and as such they can be dismissed as more or less "natural".
Multiple fires were visible in proposed Secondary Biological Corridors connecting national Forest Reserve land with that of the Rio Bravo C&MA. Several, but not all, of these corridor fires are in areas with a land use classification of 'undefined agriculture'. These fires are of lesser concern as the land is already under some sort of ad hoc cultivation. However, there are some fires directly within the secondary corridor that are occurring in areas that are reported to still have forest cover.
Conclusions:
This observation appears to indicate that agriculture is expanding into this section of the secondary corridor and that corridor connectivity in this area is at risk. It may not be prudent to invest additional conservation efforts in protecting this proposed western arm of the secondary corridor, instead the primary corridor and the eastern arm of the secondary corridor would likely gain in importance regarding further protection.
Other actions needed:
Validate these data by adding fire layers for other fire-risk months (March and May). Field visits or over-flights should confirm expansion of agricultural activities.
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