The Eastern Arc Mountains are one of the most important ecosystems that conserve biodiversity in the world. These ecosystems are threatened by the increasing occurrence of wildfires. Nevertheless, there is inadequate information useful for the development of effective strategies to prevent or respond to future fires. This paper analyses the current extent of dry season fires, underlying causes and the effectiveness of the fire management strategy being implemented in and around the Uluguru Nature Forest Reserve (UNFR) between 2016 and 2021. Differenced Normalised Burn Ratio derived from Landsat satellite images was applied to determine the extent of burned areas, and focus group discussions were held to determine the underlying causes of fires and the extent of implementation of fire management strategies. About 2% (472 ha) of reserved UNFR and 5% (2,854 ha) of unreserved forests were burned in 2017. Some of the fires impacted on 60% (370 ha) of the grassy Lukwangule plateau, which is home to a fire‐sensitive endemic species. The underlying causes of fires varied spatially across the mountains but generally, fire escaping from farm preparation and hunting activities were found to be the most prevalent. On average, survey participants perceived that fire management strategy objectives were achieved by only 29% mainly constrained by a shortage of financial and human resources. Our findings suggest that ignitions and fire spread in UNFR could be prevented or controlled through sustainable funding of fire management activities and the effective engagement of local communities in the management of the reserve.

中文翻译：

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坦桑尼亚东弧山的野火：烧毁的地区，根本原因和管理挑战

东弧山是保护世界生物多样性的最重要的生态系统之一。这些生态系统正受到越来越多的野火威胁。但是，仍然没有足够的信息可用于制定预防或应对未来大火的有效策略。本文分析了2016年至2021年之间在乌鲁古鲁自然森林保护区（UNFR）及其周围实施的旱季火灾的程度，根本原因以及正在实施的火灾管理策略的有效性，该方法应用了从Landsat卫星图像得出的标准化归一化燃烧比确定燃烧区域的范围，并举行了焦点小组讨论以确定起火的根本原因和实施火灾管理策略的程度。Lukwangule高原，是对火很敏感的地方性物种的家园。整个山上，火灾的根本原因在空间上各不相同，但通常，从农场准备和狩猎活动逃逸出来的火灾最为普遍。平均而言，调查参与者认为消防管理策略目标仅实现了29％，这主要是受财力和人力资源短缺的限制。我们的调查结果表明，可以通过对消防管理活动的可持续供资以及地方社区有效参与后备管理来预防或控制UNFR中的起火和火势蔓延。