Wildfires have increasingly damaged Andean tropical forests. However, both a poor understanding of wildfire dynamics and ecosystem response limits awareness about the magnitude of the problem and design management strategies. We estimate the impacts and significant drivers of wildfires by dating and mapping recent wildfires in an Andean tropical forest area, the Iguaque mountains. A large part of Iguaque hosts a population of the only Quercus species in South America, Quercus humboldtii. We used remote-sensing, official reports and social mapping to reconstruct the recent history of wildfires and change in oak forest patches in Iguaque. Between 1990 and 2017, 25 wildfires were recorded, with fire intervals between 4 and 21 years. These events burned 28.4% of the Iguaque mountains and showed a significant increasing trend in extent. Wildfires mostly occurred in the south, during the driest months, and their number and extent showed substantial interannual variations related to El Nino–Southern Oscillation cycles. Wildfires contributed to a 45% reduction in oak forests along with the fragmentation of existing populations. Our study presents evidence of the extent and impact of wildfires in Iguaque and provides new insights on fire dynamics in Andean tropical forests.

中文翻译：

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野火动态及其对热带安第斯橡树林的影响

野火越来越多地破坏了安第斯热带森林。然而，对野火动态和生态系统响应的缺乏了解限制了对问题严重性和设计管理策略的认识。我们通过对安第斯热带森林地区伊瓜克山脉最近发生的野火进行测年和绘制地图来估计野火的影响和重要驱动因素。伊瓜克岛的大部分地区拥有南美洲唯一的栎属物种 Quercus humboldtii。我们使用遥感、官方报告和社会测绘来重建伊瓜克最近野火和橡树林斑块变化的历史。1990 年至 2017 年间，记录了 25 次野火，火灾间隔为 4 至 21 年。这些事件烧毁了 28.4% 的伊瓜克山脉，并呈现出显着增加的趋势。野火主要发生在南部最干燥的月份，其数量和范围显示出与厄尔尼诺-南方涛动周期相关的显着年际变化。野火导致橡树林减少了 45%，同时现有种群的分裂。我们的研究提供了伊瓜克野火范围和影​​响的证据，并提供了对安第斯热带森林火灾动态的新见解。