Status report on Wildfire Impact in Millet in 2010

Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry and Fisheries

Forestry Department

Millet Range

Status report on Wildfire Impact in the Millet in 2010

 

Date June 7 2010

By Aloysius Charles: Forest officer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background

 

Isaac (2004) documented the irregular patterns in the occurrence of wildfires in St. Lucia.  There was an initial increase in the number of wildfires from 2000 to 2003 with 262, 427, 444, 595.  In 2004 there were only 84 wildfires.

 

The year 2010 registered an unprecedented drought period and an increased number of wildfires

island-wide.  A report from the Corporate Unit in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry and Fisheries detailed the downward trend in the average monthly rainfall from July 2009 to February 2010.  There was a percentage reduction of 6, 33, 61, 67, 48, 53, 78 and 96 from July 09 to February 2010.  

 

This document serves to provide baseline data on the number of wildfires, the acreage of area burnt and the wildlife present- including fauna and flora.  

 

 

 

 

Objectives

 

1.      To assess areas affected by wildfires in the Millet Range in terms of their location,  the acreage burnt and the relative presence and absence of fauna.

 

2.      To develop recommendations to rehabilitate sites affected and or to reduce the risks of wildfires in the future.

 

Methodology

 

1.      Wildfire affected areas were geo referenced using a GPS in Anse La Raye, Venus, and Canaries.  In areas where access was a constraint, a GPS position, a bearing and an estimated distance to the site was recorded.  The size of the area burnt was estimated. Inventories of plant and wild life populations were also done. 

 

2.      The data on the species richness was then analyzed for locations in two (2) tables of absence and presence for plants and other wildlife, and analyses were done of the relative abundance of species per location.

 

3.      The data on acreage was then sorted from largest to smallest according to location and analyses were done the total acreage burnt and the relative number of burns per location.

 

 

 

 

Figure 1 Map Showing Affected Areas

Results

Table 1 details the extent of and the total area that was burnt in the Millet range.  There was a total of 10.9 hectares (25.9 acres).Canaries was most affected with a total area of 5 hectares (12.4 acres).  In general the other areas affected were smaller patches of land between 0.5 and 2.5 hectares. 

Most of the fires in Canaries were on gentle sloping lands, (less than 10 percent) and appeared to be of an agricultural nature.  The wildfires either on the roadside may have been set by farmers using the slash and burn method to clear land for planting, or  may have been set by lit cigarette buts, foreign objects in the dry grass, or intentionally set by pedestrians. Notable in all the locations were the presence of species like Bamboo, Razor Grass and Heliconia Leucaena, Gliricida and Coconut trees- species (see Table 3) of high calorific content and by the foliar structure made spread of wildfires more probable especially  as they were dry during the prolonged dry season.

Canaries was also one of the sites that recorded a relatively high number of plant counts 47 (see Table 2) and 18 counts for wildlife (see Table 4). 

Venus, located in close proximity to the Forest Reserve recorded the highest number of counts of plants- 61 (see Table 2) and the highest number of counts of fauna (see table 4).

There were also wildfires in Millet near Parc Estate that were reported to be of an initial agricultural origin that went out of control.

There were fewer wildfires in the Vanard area.  This area is general highly populated and is used for agriculture and housing.

Most of the wildfires in the Anse La Raye area were near the road side.

From the point of view of biodiversity of ecological importance for conservation, three (3) endemic species of fauna were identified in this study:  the St. Lucian Oriole, the St. Lucian Parrot and the St. Lucian Warbler.  The St. Lucian Parrot was identified in Millet and Venus.  The St. Lucian Oriole was only identified in Millet.  The St. Lucian Warbler was identified in Canaries, Millet and in Venus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 1 Total Area Burnt by Wildfires

 

 

Table 2 Abundance of Plants

 

Table 4 Abundance of Fauna

 

 

 

Table 3 Total Number and Diversity of most abundant Plants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 5 Total Number and Diversity of most Abundant Fauna

 

Conclusion

 

·         The total area burnt was approximately 10 hectares.  Most of the wildfires were in Canaries with 5 hectares, followed by Millet with 2.5 hectares, Venus with 1.7 hectares, Anse La Raye with 0.7 hectares and Vanard with 0.5 hectares.

 

·         Venus was the site with the highest number of counts of plants and fauna: 61 and 36 respectively.  Canaries recorded 47 counts of plants and 18 of fauna, Anse La Raye 24 of plants and 14 of fauna, Millet 10 plants and 19 of fauna, and Vanard with 6 counts of plants and 5 of fauna.

 

·         Three endemic faunal species were present in the site inventoried.  They were: the St. Lucian Parrot, the St. Lucian Oriole and the St. Lucian Warbler.  Native plant species that inventoried were Bwa Blan,  Lowye Mabre, Dalmarie, Bwa Canon, Bwa Bleu, Mahoe Cochon, Aralie, Bay Leaf and White Cedar and Kakoli, Sip, Savonette, Bwa Damand, Bwa Tan Si and Sip.

 

·         The causes of the wildfires are uncertain.  There were many plausible causes of the wildfires included: being set by farmers using the slash and burn method to clear land for planting, or may have been set by lit cigarette buts, foreign objects in the dry grass, or intentionally set by pedestrians.  In most cases especially in the Venus and Canaries areas these wildfires went out of control where the initial purpose of the fire was for agricultural purposes.

 

·         The prolonged drought caused the increased probability and incidence of wildfires.  The intensity and spread of wildfires was enhanced with the presence of plant species with high calorific content including: Leucaena, Gliricida, Razor grass and Bamboo.

Recommendations

1.      Some of these parcels are on a gentle slope and would be good for grazing before the onset of the dry season. This would help keep the brush under control therefore lessening the amount of material that will fuel fires in the dry season.  This venture should be undertaken in collaboration with the Extension Division and private land owners and farmers.

 

2.      Pruning of branches and trees before the onset of the dry season.  Establishment of wildfire traces in areas prone to or where prescribed burnings will be carried out.

 

3.      Reforestation using the existing local species including: Bwa Blan,  Lowye Mabre, Dalmarie, Bwa Canon, Bwa Bleu, Mahoe Cochon, Aralie, Bay Leaf and White Cedar and Kakoli, Sip, Savonette, Bwa Damand, Bwa Tan Si and Sip.

4.       

 

5.      Fat poke can be used for terracing on some of the steeper areas as it has proven to be very good as a fire retardant and also recovers very well after a fire.

 

6.      Forest officers should also be trained in the suppression of fires and there should be increased patrols around the hot spots where fires are being set.  

 

7.      Education programs should be developed especially in Canaries and Venus with private land owners as the Forestry Department does not manage lands in these areas.  There should be collaboration with the Fire Department, the National Emergency Management Organization ( NEMO), the Extension Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry and Fisheries and the Schools.

 

8.      The dynamics in the populations of the 3 endemic species should be monitored in Venus, Millet and Canaries.  Fruit trees such as Kakoli should be part of reforestation programs in the mentioned areas that were burnt.

NUMBER	LOCAL NAME	SCIENTIFIC NAME
1	coconut	cocos nucifera
2	blue mahoe	hibiscus elatus
3	mango	mangifera indica
4	bwa blan	simaruba amara
5	lowye mabre	ocotea leucoxylon
6	dalmarie	adenanthera pavonina
7	bwa canon	cecropia schreberiana
8	mahoe cochon	sterculia caribaea
9	bois bleu	symplocos martinicensis
10	dedefouden	ocotea leucoxylon
11	aralie	clusia major
12	white cedar	onnosia monospenna
13	bay leaf	pimenta racemosa
14	gommier maudit	bursera simaruba
15	Leucaena	leucaena leucocephala
16	bamboo	bambusa vulgaris
17	glory cedar	gliricidia sepium
18	campeche	haematoxylum campechianum
19	ti bom	croton guildingii
20	cashew	anacardium occidentale
21	flambouyant	delonix regia
22	bwa l'homme	guazuma ulmifolia
23	breadfruit	artocarpus altilis
24	kakolie	inga ingoides
25	sip	cordia sulcata
26	savonnette	lonchocarpus punctatus
27	bwa tan si	byrsonima spicata
28	wild anthurium	anthurium cordatum
29	hog plum	spondias mombin
30	strangler fig	ficus americana
31	lian duce	lpomoca tiliacea
32	elephant grass	pennisetum setosum
33	bwa gwan fey	coccoloba pubuscens
34	pye poul	eleusine indica
35	caribbean pine	pinus caribaea
36	bwa damand	hieronyma caribaea
37	guava	psidium guajava
38	heliconia	heliconia caribaea
39	grapefruit	citrus paradisi
40	orange	citrus sinensis
41	wozo	gynerium sagitattum
42	razor grass	syringodium filifonne

number	local name	scientific name
1	banana quit	coroeba flaveola
2	lesser antillean bullfinch	loxigilla noctis
3	scaly naped pigeon	patagioenas squamosa
4	st.lucia warbler	dendroica delicata
5	lesser antillean saltator	saltator albicolis
6	scaly breasted thrasher	allenia fusca
7	st.lucia parrot	amazona versicolor
8	carib grackle	quiscalus lugubris
9	purple throated carib	eulampis jugularis
10	antillean crested hummingbird	orthohyncus cristatus
11	caribbean elaenia	elaenia martinica
12	lesser antillean flycatcher	myiarchus oberi
13	black whiskered vireo	vireo altiloquus
14	st.lucia oreole	icterus laudabilis
15	agouti	dasyprocta antillensis
16	mongoose	herpestes auropunctatus
17	grey kingbird	tyrannus dominicensis

dalmarie	1
bois bleu	1
dedefouden	1
bay leaf	1
flambouyant	1
bwa l'homme	1
savonnette	1
hog plum	1
caribbean pine	1
heliconia	1
grapefruit	1
orange	1
wozo	1
lowye mabre	2
mahoe cochon	2
campeche	2
breadfruit	2
bwa tan si	2
strangler fig	2
elephant grass	2
bwa gwan fey	2
pye poul	2
bwa damand	2
guava	2
blue mahoe	3
wild anthurium	3
lian duce	3
Fern	3
razor grass	3
aralie	4
cashew	4
kakolie	4
bwa canon	5
lucaena	5
ti bom	5
gommier maudit	6
glory cedar	6
sip	6
bwa blan	7
bamboo	7
white cedar	9
coconut	11
mango	12