Human-set fires are a crucial component of African savannas, affecting ecosystem structure, carbon emissions, local hazards and livelihoods. Yet, most fire research in these ecosystems focuses on the fire ecology of protected areas. Research exploring fire regimes in inhabited landscapes remains limited, undermining opportunities for culturally and environmentally sustainable fire management. To address this gap, we used interviews in Tanzanian farming communities and remote sensing to identify intentions behind fire use and the perceived relative frequency and riskiness of fires set for different purposes. We found that the most common ignitions were intentional and important to livelihoods. Burning was adaptive, responsive to environmental conditions, and optimised for the intended outcome with the perceived riskiest fires intentionally spreading uncontrolled. Remote sensing showed that most of the total burned area was accounted for by fires during the late dry season when people burned for activities, such as field preparation, and when environmental conditions encouraged fire spread. Our findings offer an insight into fire regimes in inhabited landscapes, by exploring how intentions shape the fire regime at the landscape scale. We discuss how understanding these intentions and local priorities, including adaptive uses of fire, is key to sustainable fire management outside protected areas.

人为火灾是非洲大草原的重要组成部分，影响生态系统结构、碳排放、当地灾害和生计。然而，这些生态系统中的大多数火灾研究都集中在保护区的火灾生态学上。在有人居住的景观中探索火灾状况的研究仍然有限，破坏了文化和环境可持续火灾管理的机会。为了解决这一差距，我们使用坦桑尼亚农业社区的访谈和遥感来确定火灾背后的意图以及为不同目的而设置的火灾的感知相对频率和风险。我们发现最常见的点火是故意的，对生计很重要。燃烧是适应性的，对环境条件有反应，并针对预期结果进行了优化，认为最危险的火灾故意不受控制地蔓延。遥感显示，在旱季末期，人们因田间准备等活动以及环境条件助长火势蔓延而焚烧，造成了大部分燃烧面积。我们的研究结果通过探索意图如何在景观尺度上塑造火灾状况，从而深入了解有人居住的景观中的火灾状况。我们讨论了理解这些意图和当地优先事项，包括对火灾的适应性使用，是如何在保护区外进行可持续火灾管理的关键。当环境条件助长火势蔓延时。我们的研究结果通过探索意图如何在景观尺度上塑造火灾状况，从而深入了解有人居住的景观中的火灾状况。我们讨论了理解这些意图和当地优先事项，包括对火灾的适应性使用，是如何在保护区外进行可持续火灾管理的关键。当环境条件助长火势蔓延时。我们的研究结果通过探索意图如何在景观尺度上塑造火灾状况，从而深入了解有人居住的景观中的火灾状况。我们讨论了理解这些意图和当地优先事项，包括对火灾的适应性使用，是如何在保护区外进行可持续火灾管理的关键。