Meio Ambiente (Brasil)
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QUALIS-CAPES
B1
2021-2024
quadriênio
##plugins.themes.gdThemes.journalSlogan##
B1
2021-2024
quadriênio
Meio Ambiente e Experimentações | Vol. 8 Núm. 3 (2026)
##plugins.themes.gdThemes.publishedIn## octubre 31, 2026
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https://10.66205/mabra.v8i3.597
Fire regimes strongly influence vegetation dynamics, agricultural systems and land management across the Miombo Woodlands of Central Angola. However, locally adapted evidence to guide prescribed burning within integrated agricultural and forest landscapes remains limited. This study aimed to support the development of a local prescribed burning plan for agricultural systems in the Miombo Woodlands of Huambo Province by assessing fuel characteristics, stand structure and fire behaviour in a Pinus spp. plantation embedded within a broader agro-forestry context. The research contributes to operational fire management strategies applicable to both plantation forestry and surrounding agricultural mosaics. Eight systematically distributed sampling points were established, where dendrometric measurements, floristic composition and fuel loads were quantified using the planar intercept method. Fuel moisture content was determined through oven-drying procedures, and experimental prescribed burns were conducted in two 25×25 m2 plots to evaluate flame height, rate of spread and burn depth under controlled conditions. These parameters were analysed to determine safe operational thresholds for low-intensity burns compatible with local agricultural land-use systems. Results showed rapid desiccation of grasses such as Hyparrhenia rufa and Brachiaria mutica, confirming their role as primary surface fuels across agricultural-forest interfaces, while woody species, including Pinus patula, retained moisture for longer, moderating fire intensity. The stand exhibited a clear two-tiered structure, with tall, thick-barked Pinus patula in the pole stage and a heterogeneous understory contributing fine fuels relevant to fire propagation in mixed land-use systems. Maximum flame heights remained below 1.4 m, and fire behaviour was consistent with low-severity surface burns, with no evidence of crown involvement. The findings demonstrate that appropriately timed, low-intensity prescribed burns can reduce 40–70% of surface and fine woody fuels without compromising overstorey integrity. These results support the feasibility of integrating locally adapted prescribed burning into sustainable fire management strategies for agricultural systems and plantation landscapes within the Miombo Woodlands of Huambo Province, Angola.
Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial 4.0.
Derechos de autor 2026 Fábio De Meneses Dassala , Sérgio Fernando Kussumua, Marcelina Alberto, Edgar Paca, Isaú Quissindo