Across much of southern Africa’s savanna wildernesses, wildfires burn unchecked. This is particularly true in the woodland savannas of northern Botswana, where wildfires originate outside of management activities, and are left to burn uncontrolled, because of limited resources and remoteness. There is concern that severe annual wildfires are resulting in the ‘savannisation’ of large tracts of wooded land across forest reserves, protected areas and surrounding wilderness areas. Because the current fire regime is unknown, management interventions are hard to introduce. We examine the recent 20-year (2001–2020) fire history in northern Botswana using MODIS satellitederived fire products to reveal fire frequency and seasonality. Six wildfire hotspots are identified for exploration of fire frequency and possible origins. Annual fire frequencies are far higher than would be expected without anthropogenic ignition. Extensive areas in some hotspots are shown to have burned between 14 and 16 out of the 20-year period. Fires peak in September, several weeks before the onset of the rainy season and associated lightning strikes, and when the fuel load is at its maximum and conditions at their driest. Adaptive fire management practices, such as those being followed in neighbouring South Africa and elsewhere should inform Botswana’s fire management policies.

在南部非洲的大部分稀树草原荒野中，野火肆无忌惮地燃烧。在博茨瓦纳北部的林地稀树草原尤其如此，那里的野火起源于管理活动之外，并且由于资源有限和地处偏远而不受控制地燃烧。人们担心每年发生的严重野火正在导致森林保护区、保护区和周围荒野地区的大片林地“荒芜”。由于目前的火灾状况未知，管理干预很难引入。我们使用 MODIS 卫星衍生的火灾产品研究了博茨瓦纳北部最近 20 年（2001-2020 年）的火灾历史，以揭示火灾频率和季节性。确定了六个野火热点，用于探索火灾频率和可能的起源。年火灾频率远高于没有人为点火的预期。一些热点地区的大面积地区在 20 年期间有 14 到 16 次被烧毁。火灾在 9 月达到顶峰，也就是雨季和相关雷击开始前的几周，此时燃料负荷达到最大且条件最干燥。适应性火灾管理实践，例如邻国南非和其他地方所遵循的实践，应该为博茨瓦纳的火灾管理政策提供参考。以及当燃料负荷达到最大且条件最干燥时。适应性火灾管理实践，例如邻国南非和其他地方所遵循的实践，应该为博茨瓦纳的火灾管理政策提供参考。以及当燃料负荷达到最大且条件最干燥时。适应性火灾管理实践，例如邻国南非和其他地方所遵循的实践，应该为博茨瓦纳的火灾管理政策提供参考。