Articles | Volume 14, issue 5 
            
                
                    
            
            
            https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-1039-2023
                    © Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under 
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
                the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-1039-2023
                    © Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under 
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
                the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Dynamic savanna burning emission factors based on satellite data using a machine learning approach
                                            Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
                                        
                                    Tom Eames
                                            Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
                                        
                                    Jeremy Russell-Smith
                                            Darwin Centre for Bushfire Research, Charles Darwin University,
Darwin, 0909 Northern Territory, Australia
                                        
                                    
                                            International Savanna Fire Management Initiative (ISFMI), Level 4, 346 Kent Street, Sydney, 2000 New South Wales, Australia
                                        
                                    Cameron Yates
                                            Darwin Centre for Bushfire Research, Charles Darwin University,
Darwin, 0909 Northern Territory, Australia
                                        
                                    
                                            International Savanna Fire Management Initiative (ISFMI), Level 4, 346 Kent Street, Sydney, 2000 New South Wales, Australia
                                        
                                    Robin Beatty
                                            International Savanna Fire Management Initiative (ISFMI), Level 4, 346 Kent Street, Sydney, 2000 New South Wales, Australia
                                        
                                    
                                            321 Fire, Praia Do Tofo, Inhambane, 1300, Mozambique
                                        
                                    Jay Evans
                                            Darwin Centre for Bushfire Research, Charles Darwin University,
Darwin, 0909 Northern Territory, Australia
                                        
                                    
                                            International Savanna Fire Management Initiative (ISFMI), Level 4, 346 Kent Street, Sydney, 2000 New South Wales, Australia
                                        
                                    Andrew Edwards
                                            Darwin Centre for Bushfire Research, Charles Darwin University,
Darwin, 0909 Northern Territory, Australia
                                        
                                    
                                            International Savanna Fire Management Initiative (ISFMI), Level 4, 346 Kent Street, Sydney, 2000 New South Wales, Australia
                                        
                                    Natasha Ribeiro
                                            Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Eduardo Mondlane
University, Maputo, Mozambique
                                        
                                    Martin Wooster
                                            Environmental Monitoring and Modelling Research Group, Department of Geography, King's College London, London, UK
                                        
                                    
                                            National Centre for Earth Observation (NERC), Leicester, UK
                                        
                                    Tercia Strydom
                                            South African National Parks (SANParks), Scientific Services, Skukuza, South Africa
                                        
                                    Marcos Vinicius Giongo
                                            Center for Environmental Monitoring and Fire Management (CEMAF), Federal
University of Tocantins,  Gurupi, Brazil
                                        
                                    Marco Assis Borges
                                            Chico Mendes institute for Conservation of Biodiversity (ICMBio), Rio
da Conceição, Brazil
                                        
                                    Máximo Menezes Costa
                                            Chico Mendes institute for Conservation of Biodiversity (ICMBio), Rio
da Conceição, Brazil
                                        
                                    Ana Carolina Sena Barradas
                                            Chico Mendes institute for Conservation of Biodiversity (ICMBio), Rio
da Conceição, Brazil
                                        
                                    Dave van Wees
                                            Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
                                        
                                    Guido R. Van der Werf
                                            Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
                                        
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                            Cited
13 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Enhanced CH4 emissions from global wildfires likely due to undetected small fires J. Zhao et al. 10.1038/s41467-025-56218-w
- Seasonal litter decomposition and accumulation in north Australian savanna C. Yates et al. 10.1071/WF24053
- Assessment of Fire Dynamics in the Amazon Basin Through Satellite Data H. Barbosa et al. 10.3390/atmos16020228
- Fire weather severity in southern Africa is increasing faster and more extensively in the late than in the early dry season S. Catarino et al. 10.1071/WF24002
- Can the remote sensing of combustion phase improve estimates of landscape fire smoke emission rate and composition? F. Owsley-Brown et al. 10.5194/amt-17-6247-2024
- Framework for a savanna burning emissions abatement methodology applicable to fire-prone miombo woodlands in southern Africa J. Russell-Smith et al. 10.1071/WF23193
- A bottom–up savanna fire fuel consumption inventory and its application to savanna burning in Kafue National Park, Zambia T. Eames et al. 10.1071/WF24121
- Small fires, big gap: High-resolution VIIRS data reveal widespread underestimation of emissions in sub-Saharan Africa B. Ouattara et al. 10.1016/j.geomat.2025.100069
- Biomass burning emission estimation in the MODIS era: State-of-the-art and future directions M. Parrington et al. 10.1525/elementa.2024.00089
- Assessing the Impact of Amazonian Fires on Atmospheric NO2 Using Satellite Data H. Barbosa & C. Buriti 10.3390/land14030482
- Viability and desirability of financing conservation in Africa through fire management T. Knowles et al. 10.1038/s41893-024-01490-9
- How Do Emission Factors Contribute to the Uncertainty in Biomass Burning Emissions in the Amazon and Cerrado? G. Mataveli et al. 10.3390/atmos16040423
- Review article: Fire emissions in the Brazilian Cerrado – dynamics, estimates, management, and their role in the global carbon budget R. da Veiga et al. 10.5194/nhess-25-3581-2025
13 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Enhanced CH4 emissions from global wildfires likely due to undetected small fires J. Zhao et al. 10.1038/s41467-025-56218-w
- Seasonal litter decomposition and accumulation in north Australian savanna C. Yates et al. 10.1071/WF24053
- Assessment of Fire Dynamics in the Amazon Basin Through Satellite Data H. Barbosa et al. 10.3390/atmos16020228
- Fire weather severity in southern Africa is increasing faster and more extensively in the late than in the early dry season S. Catarino et al. 10.1071/WF24002
- Can the remote sensing of combustion phase improve estimates of landscape fire smoke emission rate and composition? F. Owsley-Brown et al. 10.5194/amt-17-6247-2024
- Framework for a savanna burning emissions abatement methodology applicable to fire-prone miombo woodlands in southern Africa J. Russell-Smith et al. 10.1071/WF23193
- A bottom–up savanna fire fuel consumption inventory and its application to savanna burning in Kafue National Park, Zambia T. Eames et al. 10.1071/WF24121
- Small fires, big gap: High-resolution VIIRS data reveal widespread underestimation of emissions in sub-Saharan Africa B. Ouattara et al. 10.1016/j.geomat.2025.100069
- Biomass burning emission estimation in the MODIS era: State-of-the-art and future directions M. Parrington et al. 10.1525/elementa.2024.00089
- Assessing the Impact of Amazonian Fires on Atmospheric NO2 Using Satellite Data H. Barbosa & C. Buriti 10.3390/land14030482
- Viability and desirability of financing conservation in Africa through fire management T. Knowles et al. 10.1038/s41893-024-01490-9
- How Do Emission Factors Contribute to the Uncertainty in Biomass Burning Emissions in the Amazon and Cerrado? G. Mataveli et al. 10.3390/atmos16040423
- Review article: Fire emissions in the Brazilian Cerrado – dynamics, estimates, management, and their role in the global carbon budget R. da Veiga et al. 10.5194/nhess-25-3581-2025
Latest update: 30 Oct 2025
Short summary
                    Savannas account for over half of global landscape fire emissions. Although environmental and fuel conditions affect the ratio of species the fire emits, these dynamics have not been implemented in global models. We measured CO2, CO, CH4, and N2O emission factors (EFs), fuel parameters, and fire severity proxies during 129 individual fires. We identified EF patterns and trained models to estimate EFs of these species based on satellite observations, reducing the estimation error by 60–85 %.
                    Savannas account for over half of global landscape fire emissions. Although environmental and...
                    
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