Forum Geografi
Vol. 40 No. 3 (2026): December 2026

Linking Weather Variability and Wildfires Across Tropical Ecoregions: Evidence from Sumatra, Indonesia

Asshaffa Naim (Master in Geography Program, Faculty of Geography, Universitas Gadjah Mada, 55281, Yogyakarta)
Andung Bayu Sekaranom (Department of Environmental Geography, Faculty of Geography, Universitas Gadjah Mada, 55281, Yogyakarta)
Sudrajat Sudrajat (Department of Environmental Geography, Faculty of Geography, Universitas Gadjah Mada, 55281, Yogyakarta)
Fitria Nucifera (Division of Sustainable Energy and Environment, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Osaka, 565-0871, Osaka)



Article Info

Publish Date
06 Jul 2026

Abstract

Wildfires in tropical regions exhibit strong spatial variability that reflects differences in ecoregion characteristics and weather sensitivity. This study aims to examine the relationship between weather dynamics and wildfire distribution across six different ecoregion characteristics in Sumatra. MODIS Fire hotspot data were used to analyze wildfire distribution from 2016–2023, combined with ERA5 and SMAP soil moisture data. Negative binomial regression and incidence rate ratio analysis were performed to obtain a statistical measure of the influence of weather. The results show that wildfire occurrence was highly concentrated in coastal and swamp ecoregions, with peat swamp forests (PSFs) accounting for the highest hotspot density. Pre-fire weather analyses showed that swamp and mangrove ecoregions exhibited higher sensitivity to relatively small rainfall deficits and temperature increases compared to upland forests. The negative binomial regression indicated that the strongest weather–wildfire associations were in freshwater swamp forest (FSFs), where weather variables yielded the highest pseudo-R² (0.226). The distinct weather sensitivity of each ecoregion was further explained by the IRR values, which showed strong temperature sensitivity in the Sunda Shelf mangrove (SSM) region and a prominent rainfall-related suppression of wildfire activity in FSFs. The findings demonstrate ecoregion-specific wildfire sensitivity and the need for targeted wildfire management strategies, particularly in peatland and coastal ecosystems in Sumatra.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

fg

Publisher

Subject

Earth & Planetary Sciences

Description

Aim Forum Geografi is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to advancing the field of geography by publishing original scientific articles on spatial issues. The journal prioritizes studies that employ rigorous spatial analysis and geospatial technologies—such as GIS and remote ...