Wildland Fire Management Handbook for Sub-Sahara Africa (Hardcover)

Africa is a fire continent. Since the early evolution of humanity, fire has been harnessed as a land-use tool. Many ecosystems of Sub-Sahara Africa that have been shaped by fire over millennia provide a high carrying capacity for human populations, wildlife and domestic livestock. The rich biodiversity of tropical and sub-tropical savannas, grasslands and fynbos ecosystems is attributed to the regular influence of fire. However, as a result of land-use change, increasing population pressure and increased vulnerability of agricultural land, timber plantations and residential areas, many wildfires have a detrimental impact on ecosystem stability, economy and human security. The wildland fire management handbook for Sub-Sahara Africa aims to address both sides of wildland fire, the best possible use pf prescribed fire for maintaining and stabilizing ecosystems, and the state-of-the-art in wildfire fire prevention and control. The title has been prepared by a group of authors with different backgrounds in wildland fire science and fire management.